In Another Life
by kathryn518
Summary: The Cullen family left Bella in the forest. In this story they didn't come back to forks. Bella still ended up a vampire. She's now a feared member of the Volturi. She's got a daughter, and she's had no contact with the Cullens for almost a century. She emerges from the horrors of her past under the shadow of a looming threat.
1. These Troubled Times

_**~In Another Life~**_

The Cullen family left Bella in the forest. In this story they didn't come back to forks. Bella ended up a vampire. She's now a feared member of the Volturi. She's got a daughter, and she's had no contact with the Cullens for almost a century. But the best laid plans of mice and men...

Title: **In Another Life**  
Rating: **Mature** - Some violence, sexual situationss, and occasional coarse language  
Genres: **Drama, Suspense, Action, Romance, Family**  
Relationships: **Bella/Alice**  
Canon Status: **Alternate Universe** (divergent from the moment Edward left Bella in _**New Moon**_)

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_**~ Chapter One ~**_

**Every single night the same arrangement**

**I go out and fight the fight.**

**Still I always feel the strangest strangement**

**Nothing here is real, nothing here is right.**

**I've been making shows of trading blows**

**Just hoping no one knows**

**That I've been going through the motions**

**Walking through the part.**

**Nothing seems to penetrate my heart**

The curved hallway was already clear as the cloaked and hooded figure stalked through it, her very presence intimidating. Her posture, the tilt of her shoulders, and her aggressive gait made it clear that she had neither the time nor inclination to stop and talk with anyone. This was one of the reasons why no one even attempted to get in the way, the other was her reputation, which was such that the guard knew better than to bother her in the slightest. In the past three quarters of a century, she had been the cause of many of their number having to literally be pieced back together, when training sessions got a little too intense, they made the mistake of outright challenging her, or worst of all on those rare occasions that one of them was foolish enough to actually anger her. Her violent temper had made most feel the need to dance on egg shells around her. It didn't help that the ancient hallways were barely wide enough to accommodate a single person going in each direction if they hugged to the wall. She didn't even notice that she took up the entire space, since no one had gotten in her way in a long time.

**_"I'm hoping for Australia, I'm *so* done with winter right now. Where do you think we're going to end up this time? I'm guessing the States are a problem again, cause I know Jane and Alec just took off not too long ago. That place seems like it needs visits regularly. Wanna place bets on where Aro sends us?" _**Eliza sent Isabella with a touch of playfulness through their peculiar connection, which was one part telepathy and one part physical bond.

They shared thoughts, memories, and sensations effortlessly along an ethereal tether. To them it was as natural as feeding. Eliza had desperately wanted to go along for the summons, but Isabella had refused since Eliza's mood at the moment was bordering on insolent. When she got like that, it was best to keep her away from Caius, who's impatience was legendary.

Eliza sighed outwardly, resting her chin on her hands which were balanced on the big windowsill of their shared room. The sharply angled rooftops of Volterra were always a welcome sight to her, but a tiresome one. She had been staring at the same view for nearly three-quarters of a century. Isabella tried to ignore her daughter's melancholy mood, and instead focused on the situation ahead of her. She didn't even acknowledge the secretary as she strode by, although she did glance at her once as she pulled back her hood. The exquisitely beautiful, short, raven haired woman stood up respectfully at her passing. Isabella flinched inwardly, she looked too much like someone she didn't want to think about from her human past. And the passing resemblance made her scowl. She was half tempted to mention her displeasure to Aro, but she had no doubt that another would soon take her place, since she was just the latest in a very long line of secretaries, a position that mostly ended up ending when they were used as meals.

**_"Does it matter Eliza? It's not exactly like we need to worry about parkas except for show, and you don't tan so what's the difference? Would you prefer it if we stayed here, with nothing to do for months on end?" _**Isabella's slightly playful response was a positive sign, at least to Eliza. It meant her mother was ready to get out again, which meant she would have a measure of patience this time around. If she had been emotionless like normal, they would go, kill, and come back without so much as a shopping trip.

Isabella could immediately feel the response floating back along the link they shared, the mocking disgust at just sitting around. Elizabeth was her daughter, even if they didn't share DNA. Isabella had frequently wondered if she would be as close to Eliza if she were simply her birth mother. Their connection was far more complicated, especially given the circumstances surrounding Eliza's conversion.

It was easy to tell there was a physical connection between the two. Their pale faces had the same structure, except for a couple of minor differences. Their dark hair was of similar cut and length, even though they styled it differently. To human eyes, the two women did look more like teenagers, and they could easily be identified as close relations, not quite identical to the most attentive of eyes but most definitely siblings. Their eye color was what really set them apart though; Eliza's eyes were a deep violet which stood in stark contrast to Isabella's which were a dark red.

Eliza had been a captive all her short life until Isabella found her on one of her first missions. What occurred that night was still a matter of debate among the few that knew the particulars, but what wasn't up for debate was that it left the two of them changed. The bond was only one aspect of that transformation, the rest was the reason they were so feared. Though some made the arguments that the two of them were no longer true vampires but... something else.

Since that night, they had been connected to one another as mother and daughter for almost seventy-five years, sharing their lives as a family. Isabella had never wanted to have a connection that was so personal, her past was such that interpersonal relationships were difficult for her.

She was taciturn in demeanor and stoic in manners, although the phrase "heinous bitch" had been used to describe her on more than one occasion by members of the Volturi coven and guard; though never when they thought she was in ear shot. Eliza might've been the more verbose and friendly of the two outwardly, but she had her own violent streak mostly stemming from her formative years as a test subject.

_**"I guess not. Say hi to Gramps, Uncle C, and Marcus for me."**_ Eliza had never been able to come up with an appropriate nickname for Marcus, and since he was so dead to the world she never felt a need for one. Still, she engaged him more than anyone else did, and he responded to her in turn. She wasn't sure if he was fond of her, but he did seem to be slightly less morbidly zombie like around her. Isabella shrugged, and gave her an mental nod. Eliza sighed again, and continued to look out the window, although most of her attention was completely diverted as she used her connection to look through Isabella's eyes.

Isabella ignored the page that announced her appearance in the main chamber of the Volturi throne room, he was a little weasel of a vampire named Collins, who very much reminded her of the oblivious cousin of Eliza's namesake. Eliza kind of wished Isabella eye's would wander, because the room was very plain at eye level, but the large ornate dome structure of the ceiling was simply marvelous. It was patterned after old Italian or Greek architecture, and Aro boasted that it was built during those times.

Before her on a dais, raised several steps above the floor were three large ornate chairs. In those overly ostentatious chairs sat the men who sat at the head of the Volturi coven. A coven that felt more like a monarchy, with the members of the coven acting as nobles, and the guard as their knights, generals, and soldiers. Aro, Caius, and Marcus' ages were completely indeterminate, but their skin betrayed their advanced age. It appeared almost paper thin, even though it was an illusion. Their physical power might've been diminished over time to a degree, but their speed and skill was practically unrivaled. Each were capable of eliminating any vampire or group of vampires one on one. Except for Isabella and her daughter.

Individually Isabella and Eliza were stronger than a newborn and faster than an elder, which separated them out from the rest of their kind. They had each also spent most of the last century in one form of combat training or another. It was that fear that gave them their position within the Volturi, and stayed Aro's hand when they acted against orders on occasion.

Together they were extremely formidable, and had been accepted into the family as the trio's personal enforcers. Except they didn't know that their vaulted place within the coven wasn't entirely based on merit, Aro kept them close partially out of paranoia. Fearful that they could become like the dog that is mistreated, that eventually turns and bites its master.

Isabella faced the dais, from her position Marcus was on the left, his utterly apathetic expression brightened ever so slightly by her appearance. He hadn't changed at all in Isabella's tenure within the Volturi. He had dark hair and a face that would be kind if he was able to convey any kind of emotion. Unfortunately he was a prisoner of his own misery, trapped in a never ending monotony in a place that only marginally kept his interest. His eternal torment was having survived the death of his beloved Didyme, Aro's sister, and one of the founding members of the Volturi.

For most of his three thousand years he passed through life barely aware of what was happening around him except in the most passing of ways. Eliza had once mused that if she set fire to his loose dull hair, he might only react enough to tilt his head and watch it burn rather than do anything to stop it.

Eliza closed her eyes as a memory came up after Isabella glanced at him. A memory of Marcus tending the flowers that had bloomed for as long as the structure had been standing. He kept the private garden in memory of Didyme, and it was the only time of day when he was active. Even with his apathy he as a fount of knowledge, his extensive reading on practically every topic was a source of never-ending interest for Eliza. She went to him practically every day, as he hummed the same melody. She would ask questions, and he would answer her without complaint.

He wasn't impassioned like a lecturer, or as dull as a bored professor. His pleasant baritone, although devoid of intonation, had a quality to it that was very easy for Eliza to listen to. It was years before she thought to ask what he was humming. It was the only time he ever paused from his task. He stood with a blank stare, and tiled his head towards the sun.

"It was her favorite, taught to her by her mother. She would sing it to me in the dead of night, when the human world slumbered. She said it was her way of letting the flowers know it was okay to bloom the next day. I do what I can to keep them happy, since they don't have her anymore." It was the one and only time she had ever seen him express an emotion, it was a smile so vague that it made the Mona Lisa seem like she was grinning ear to ear. Yet it was enough to let Eliza know that the memory of his beloved wife was an ember still burning deep within his dead heart. It gave her hope that her mother might be able to love again someday, because if someone like Marcus had something inside left, may she did too.

"How did she die?" Eliza risked. Marcus turned form his reminiscing, and stared at her, his attention completely focused on her for the first time ever.

"We were at war with another coven, they took Didyme, Sulpicia and Athenodora as leverage. Caius didn't listen to their demands so they destroyed Didyme and burned her in bonfire that left no bones. Sulpicia said they took her into a tent, so they wouldn't have to witness the death. Then they tore her limb from limb. Athenodora said she could hear her short scream as they removed her head, and then the ripping of stone as they started to tear her to pieces. Aro lost his mind from grief, she was his sister after all. He marched on them, and destroyed every last member, save one. That survivor was the first member of our guard." He turned away from her than, a far off look of longing quickly fading from his features, and went back to his gardening. Eliza never brought it up again.

Isabella's gaze shifted past Marcus to Caius, a man whose face was set in a permanent expression of anger or discontentment, and unlike the other two men sitting next to him, his long hair was a very pale blond. Isabella barely acknowledged him, because they shared an intense mutual dislike of one another. Caius never failed to remind her that he barely tolerated her existence, and she generally ignored him because she thought his hostility was petty and based entirely on wanton ignorance and bigotry. Eliza held to the belief that he was just a giant asshole that hated pretty much everything and everyone. The few times either of them had interacted with him outside of formal audience, he played miserable games of malicious intrigue and made a show of flattering them with back handed compliments.

_**"Caius looks like he's sitting on a pinecone again."**_ Eliza interjected, forcing Isabella to repress a smirk.

_**"At least his contempt is universal, or I'd think he disliked us or something."**_ Isabella threw back, making Eliza nearly fall over laughing.

In the center of the raised platform was Aro. His hair was long and pitch black, and like the other two men, his skin was very pale, an almost chalky white. Unlike the other two men though, his face bore an almost perpetually excited smile. Isabella met his smile with a softening of her own chiseled frown. She didn't reciprocate his affection, but she had to admit he had always been generally good to her.

From the first day she arrived in Volterra, half crazed and totally unable to interact with anyone on a social level, Aro was the one that was initially able to get through to her. He was patient, and fascinated by her story, which took a long time to coax out of her. They didn't exactly have a familial bond like the one he shared with Jane and Alec, but he was very fond of her. Enough that he sponsored her and Eliza's admittance into the Coven, elevating them to the position of princesses. It afforded her some luxuries which Eliza liked, and rank above the rest of the guard which she didn't really care about, but the freedoms it allowed suited her mercurial nature.

Isabella respectively removed her hood and gave a bow of respect to the three men. Her hair was a dark brown with the slightest bit of red in it, her skin also was pale but nearly as white as theirs, and her eyes were a deep dark red.

"You summoned me, Father?" She addressed Aro as father out of respect for her official adoption into the Volturi. Calling him that was something that it had taken her years to get used to, and even longer to say without being obviously uncomfortable. She frowned slightly as she glanced about the room. Usually there were eight to ten of the Volturi guard present at all times, however only four figures were in the room.

**_"I wonder where everyone is." _**Eliza sent through the connection, mirroring Isabella's own unspoken question. Yet Isabella responded with the physical sensation of a shrug, it was a curiosity, but not an important one in her eyes.

"Daughter, thank you for joining us!" Aro stood up, sweeping down the stairs to embrace Isabella. A gesture Isabella took in with a measure of good natured tolerance, since she hated to be touched by anyone except her daughter. Aro was by nature a touchy feely person, because that's how his powers worked. He could read anything about a person he touched, and could see their entire life, and everything they'd ever experienced in an instant. Both Isabella and her daughter were immune to his ability unless they wished to be otherwise, but old habits die hard and few habits were older than his need to introduce himself with a touch.

He hinted several times over the years that he was the primary reason that people all over the world shook hands in greeting.

After the short embrace Aro returned to his chair on the dais, his face settling into an expression of complete seriousness. "We summoned you here because we have an urgent and rather... unique situation. Once more the United States has become a problem. Jane and Alec were just sent to New York again to handle a resurgence of intolerable activity."

Isabella frowned at that, and her daughter's puzzlement joined her on the mental link. "Again? We were there three months ago. There wasn't a single vampire left, newborn or otherwise." Isabella asked, her tone slightly defensive at the possibility that their performance might be in question.

Aro nodded gravely, all trace of humor gone from his face though he held his hands up in a slightly placating motion "Peace daughter, you did a fine job in New York. We have no complaints. But to answer your question, yes, again, and that's not the only issue that we're having with the United States. We have a rash of newborn attacks. There were several all across Los Angeles three weeks ago, five less than two weeks ago in Portland Oregon, and two in Seattle six days ago. They do not overlap though, so we believe it is the same group, because, when one area dies down, another picks up a few days later. Or at least that was our assumption, until this latest one. New York flared up at the same time as a resurgence in Los Angeles."

"At the same time? That's... unusual... I know Jane and Alec were there on the west coast two months ago." Isabella's reply was more placid and more thoughtful now that she had some specifics. Eliza's interest was also peaked, and she opened up her side of the connection a little bit more to catch every detail.

Aro nodded looking serious. "Yes. And now they're in New York. We can't tell if we've got a rash of vampires creating newborns recklessly, or if this is something more concentrated. Perhaps it is someone trying to challenge our ability to enforce our laws. Already we have lost two guards in these attacks, call it hubris, we underestimated them."

_**"Shit this must be serious if Aro's copping to arrogance, what's next Marcus will stand up and dance a jig, and Caius will smile and laugh at one of my jokes?"**_ Eliza quipped with genuine shock. Aro being even marginally forthcoming about guard losses unsettled them both.

"So you want us to go take care of Los Angeles?" Isabella asked curiously.

_**"I think it's bigger than that. I'm getting a vibe, and Gramps hardly ever gives off vibes. Maybe we're getting that pony I asked for sixty years ago." **_Elizabeth's sarcastic tone echoed through Isabella's head with an accompanying giggle. She managed to keep a straight face though. Eliza's pony plea was legendary, it was also the first time she called Aro "Gramps" to his face. It was one of the few things Isabella found genuinely amusing. Aro at least had the good humor enough to laugh that first time; since then his amusement with her less than formal address had waned considerably.

Aro nodded his head. "Yes, but there's more than that, the nature of these events have forced us to re-evaluate our methods. We can no longer afford to be reactionary, when our secret is balanced on the edge of a knife like this. So, in an attempt to quell the tide of these newborn armies we are sending you there to take care of this immediate problem, and then we would like you to stay in the area. Establish a base of operations so to speak."

Isabella's emotionless mask cracked and she displayed surprise. Eliza feel off her chair melodramatically, her face contorting in exaggerated shock. Isabella pushed her daughter's antics to the back of her mind and paid full attention to Aro who paused for only a second before continuing. "We have spent the past few years putting out fires, and things haven't gotten any better. It's time we stopped governing from afar. Jane and Alec will be our liaison's on the eastern American coast, Felix and Demetri have central and South America, and you and your daughter will represent us on the western American coast."

Isabella frowned at that, though she could feel Eliza's already building excitement at the idea of such free reign, "I have a major problem with that." Isabella spoke up. Eliza and Caius both hissed slightly in response although for very different reasons. Eliza was very excited about the prospect, and Caius always got indignant when anyone even attempted to question orders.

Isabella ignored them both and addressed Aro directly. He realized quickly that her objection was in earnest and he made a slight appeasing motion with his hand to calm Caius down. "I am not countering your orders,, I just don't understand the need to expand like this. While I agree it's troublesome that we no sooner return from fixing one problem to immediately head out to stamp out another, but this might simply be a plot to rouse suspicions regarding our effectiveness. Or maybe it could be random. Either way my major concern is that with so many of the guard being gone, Volterra and the council would be left far too exposed, perhaps even vulnerable."

At her explanation Caius seemed to relax slightly, not that his permanent scowl lessened to even a fraction of a degree, but he did seem to be less irritated that her question of his authority was based mostly on a concern for his safety.

Aro nodded and spoke again. "We debated that very thing, however we have our reserve guard here, and several more are going through training as we speak, and all six of you can be back here in less than twenty-four hours should we discover that we are under any sort of threat. I promise we will watch our borders very carefully, and you'll be among the first to know should Volterra find itself in any sort of real danger."

Isabella nodded slowly, "How long should we plan to be standing guard over these territories?" she asked.

"We hope this problem should be eradicated relatively swiftly. After the immediate threat is gone, we believe you should remain there for a decade or two to quash any other challenge to our authority, and put to rest any question about our ability to project our strength. However if things work out then it's possible for this to become a longer term prospect." Aro responded, reclining back into his chair slightly.

"Where do you want us to live?" Isabella asked curiously. She didn't really relish the idea, but it was clear that Eliza was _excited _at the prospect of this new adventure. In truth the idea of being alone was mildly appealing, but it was an indulgence and perhaps a dangerous one. Eliza's nature was curious and explorative, she could easily find herself immersed in dangers she couldn't even begin to imagine. Yet that was hardly the issue at hand, because she already knew exactly where Eliza would want to go. Her only hope was that Aro had somewhere specific in mind.

Aro shrugged negligently, "Establish yourselves wherever you chose, I leave the finer details up to you. You have the full authority of the Volturi. Meld into the herd to hide your identity if you prefer, since I assume you won't want to sit in some apartment just waiting to go deal with any newborn issues that may pop up. Be safe, Daughter." His tone made it clear that in his mind the conversation was over.

Isabella nodded slowly and bowed her head in respect once more, before turning on her heels and striding out through the same door she entered through. Normally she'd be beyond irritated at this, but she could feel her daughter's exuberance and it began to effect her opinion. Elizabeth already thumbing through ideas like some kind of mental picture book. In truth, Isabella may have been wary of this turn of events, but she hadn't strayed far from Volterra except on missions. It was something that neither of them resented since it was a rule of the Volturi, but sometimes they'd each craved more freedom at times. Especially Eliza, who had never lived outside of the walls of the city.

Isabella made her way quickly back to her quarters, striding through the halls purposefully until she reached their shared domicile. Although technically Eliza's own room was an adjoining one, she rarely if ever shut the door, making it one large space. They didn't like to be apart very often. With an economy of movement she started to pack a suitcase and a duffel full of clothes. Eliza was sitting on the windowsill again, she had already finished packing, her own stuff was sitting by the door.

"I guess I don't have to tell you to pack." Isabella said upon noticing the bags. Eliza shrugged. She started packing the moment Aro mentioned their assignment.

"Well, this is kind of a big deal. I grabbed everything though, since we're not coming back anytime soon. Do you think I should leave like a book or two so it doesn't look like I'm being too excited about this?" Eliza said as she scanned the empty bookcases and shelves. She had been pretty thorough in her whirlwind packing job.

"No, we may never come back on a permanent basis." Isabella frowned slightly at the thought, she really did think of Volterra as home. Elizabeth moved in and hugged Isabella easily, and Isabella wrapped her up in a gentle hug "You're really want this don't you?" Isabella asked her daughter softly. Even though they didn't need to speak vocally, there was something they both liked about the warm quality of the spoken word. When they were together physically, they rarely used their connection.

Elizabeth grinned and nodded, holding the hug for several long seconds before stepping back with a slight bounce. "Absolutely, I love this idea. You know sometimes this life drives me insane. Mission, boredom, mission, boredom, with nothing else between. About the only thing I'm going to miss is the Stargate SG-1 marathon I had planned on."

Isabella nodded with a small smile, her daughter was much more exuberant and free with her emotions than she was. Isabella understood why, and it was always a contrast to her rather stoic view of life. "Well, don't forget Eliza, mission first. We have to quiet the newborn attacks before we consider settling anywhere."

Eliza regarded her mother thoughtfully for a moment, before murmuring "Well you only have to worry about your clothes, I got everything else." Elizabeth trailed off thoughtfully and returned to her perch overlooking the city. This was different though, it felt like a goodbye, and Eliza wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"What is it?" Isabella asked curiously as she finished stuffing clothing in her duffel, most of it black and generic. It wasn't often that there were any uncomfortable feelings between the two of them, given the connection they had.

"I never really… thought of this place as home you know? I just feel a little conflicted about it for some reason... also I know you're not going to like this, but I want to ask, as a favor to me." Elizabeth turned and slowly looked up to met her mother's curious gaze. Isabella didn't let on that she already knew what Eliza was going to ask, instead she regarded her with a raised eyebrow and didn't say anything.

Eliza finally met mother's gaze, aware that what she was about to say was going to touch on a very bleak part of where her mother's past. "When we settle. I want to go back to where it started for you. I want to see it with my own eyes. I want to go to Forks."

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_**Let me start with a few disclaimers.**_

_**1) This story started out as a combination of two challenges. A friend of mine told me that if I didn't have any epic tale of my own tell yet, to start based on someone else's idea; preferably something you don't care all that much for. I was told that sometimes the best way to hone your writing and ideas was to write about something you hate. I know right? Sounds crazy. But apparently if you try and write about something you love, you tend to repeat what's already there. (There's a reason you love it after all) Whereas with something you dislike… It's like getting behind the wheel of a car you don't care about. If you end up driving that car over a cliff… well you don't really mind, provided you jump out first. (If you don't jump out, at least it's a hell of a ride down)**_

_**2) Twilight. This was the 2nd challenge I mentioned. I was having a conversation when I called the books/movies stupid. The person I was talking to agreed with me, but asked if I had ever read them, or watched the movies and I hadn't. (My response to that was VAMPIRES DO NOT SPARKLE.) She told me that I should read before making an opinion about something rather than relying on others to form my opinions. So guess what? I read the books and watched the movies. So when I have an opinion on them now, I'm actually basing that on actually having read them.**_

_**3) The idea for this story actually came when I read a fan fiction on . Yes I know. I do a crap ton of reading. I'll read almost anything. A story called Reach for Me by Black-Rose-Of-Night. I loved the concept of an angry and spurned Bella and a confrontation years later where she's not a helpless human. I loved the idea of Bella having someone else in her life at that point as a family member, and I'm a huge fan of the Bella/Alice pairing. However I think that the story written there, while it had great ideas, was abandoned with far too much on the table when it came to possibilities and writing. So I'm taking a crack at it under similar ideas. So please do not waste your time and mine by pointing out similarities as I give major props to the Author for having some of those ideas in the first place.**_

_**4) I'm doing a bit of hand waving when it comes to time. The elapsed time since Edward left Bella in the forest is 90 years. But since that would bring us to the year 2100 or so, I have some issue with that. Since I have no idea what technology will be like at that point. (If you do, lets chat. We can talk about stocks and investing) So I'm leaving the year kind of... ambiguous. Implying that she was abandoned a bit in the past and we're a bit in the future. There will be some advancements in technology but no lightsabers or flying cars or anything of that nature, we not going to introduce anything that fundamentally alters the way the world works, so to speak.**_

_**5) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: I wanted to start off by saying how grateful I am to Kathryn for letting me be a part of her story. Although I took primary on these revisions, they wouldn't be possible without Kathryn's wonderful foundation. I also want to acknowledge Dark Bella, she put a lot of work into this story, and her influence will hopefully not be erased since she did a marvelous job. I hope you all like this revision of chapter one. I know it's quite a bit longer, but that isn't a bad thing is it? The goal was to add details to the story that would benefit the whole. Not all the alterations will be as significant as this chapter, but everything up to chapter 28 will be touched up in some way. We are going to try to add one of these revised chapters per week with our new updates. Nothing will be changed exactly, just enhanced and extended. The exception of course are the first person chapters which will be converted to third person like the rest of the story. I really hope you guys re-read these very altered chapters.**_

_**6) I don't own Twilight or most of the characters depicted in this fan fiction. You may not like some of the things that happen, and I'm totally okay with that. I promise not to cry myself to sleep. I invite constructive criticism, but can't promise I'll listen to it.**_


	2. Counting Snowflakes

**Chapter 2**

**~Two Months later~**

**~Alice~**

I counted the snowflakes as they slowly and gracefully fell to the ground beneath my window. I could actually take the time to see each individual snow flake In a way they were an analogy for so many lives, such short lived beauty. It gave me something to do to pass the time. I could hear movement from within the house as those I shared this, shelter with went about their lives.

I could groans and occasional shouts as Emmett played whatever shooting game had his attention at the moment. His overly large frame rattled the couch each time he moved. I could hear the rustle of magazine pages which was no doubt Rosalie reading the current issue of Cosmo, or Vogue, or some other fashion magazine as she half watched her husband… or boyfriend or I guess he's back to being at the moment, since we've started over yet again.

I could hear the droning sound of a pedantic and almost mechanical voice, describing a medical procedure. Carlisle had to stay current, and occasionally he watched videos rather than read if he needed to see how a particular operation was done. This, among other means, was how he kept up such a stellar reputation in the medical profession.

I could hear a light tapping as Esme mixed a paint color for one of her paintings. I idly wondered whether she was painting a portrait or an abstract. Years and years of practice had distilled her impressive natural talent and she was a phenomenal artist. She could bring anything to life. I could hear her humming lightly to herself as she mixed colors to form whatever color she was envisioned.

I heard Jasper and Adara in the den murmuring to one another. Jasper was my best friend in the world. Until he met Adara, he was my lover. We met each other when we both needed each other, but both of us knew we weren't "soul mates." When we met Adara in Calgary almost 50 years ago, their connection was immediate. I think everyone in the family was surprised when I stepped aside without argument or without protest. It didn't last long.

Adara had a calming influence on Jasper surpassed anything I had been able to do. It wasn't a special power she had, it was just her natural effect on him. Adara was everything I wasn't. She was tall, almost as tall as Emmett, her physique was athletic. She also had senses far better than average, even among vampire, able to pick up scents and hear things before the rest of us. She was solemn and serious and she fit perfectly with Jasper in ways I never had. At first she had been very standoffish around me, but it didn't last long. Once she realized I harbored no jealousy or dislike because of her relationship with Jasper, she became friendlier. Vampires could be _very_ territorial about their mates. But once we got past the point she thought I might try and claim him from her, we settled into a friendship; at least as much of a friendship as I was able to muster.

I heard the soft tinkle of piano keys as Edward sat down to start playing. He was playing a solemn and old piece, without being mournful. It had been his suggestion we move back to this place. This place still held so many memories.

Everyone here had something or someone, except me. I had no room to complain however, my solitude was my own damned fault. And damned was a good a word as any to describe the existence I now endured. Damned by my own cowardice. I had to do something to pass the endless time. So today I counted snowflakes.

In some ways it seemed like nothing had changed since we'd left and now returned. The town and community was still small, relatively isolated. It had been 90 years since we left. It was still a town where everyone knew everyone else. No one who knew us back then was still alive to recognize us. Even the oldest person in the town had been a baby when we left. Left here. Left _her._

Well, no one who wasn't a supernatural being. It was possible there were some members of the local Quileute tribe might remember us. I hadn't run into them yet, though Carlisle had gone to the boundary line and told them when we returned. A courtesy he had called it. He told us they weren't pleased, obviously, but the treaty still held. The mutts wanted absolutely nothing to do with us, and would only hassle us should we violate it.

Everything was the same. Mostly. Everyone's rooms were set up the same way they had been when we had been here before. Adara and Jasper had their own room now obviously. But aside from cosmetic changes, anyone viewing us would think we had moved on.

Too bad it was all a lie. _She_ was still a scar across the hearts of each of us, some of us more than others. It was a like a wound and it would never fully heal for all of us, and not at all for me. Always since we left her. Since he made us leave her.

My thoughts of anger towards Edward lasted only a brief moment. It was so easy to place all of the blame on him. Because it was his fault. He was the one who'd insisted we leave. "Give her a chance at a normal life."

The family had sided with him, albeit reluctantly, and we left. Left Forks for a city in Canada, leaving her behind. So very tempting to blame him and only him. But I couldn't. I had gone too. I had listened to him. Let him push us to go. I could have gone back. I didn't. I left her behind. I couldn't even bring myself to say goodbye. I knew if I had tried I wouldn't have been able to leave. And in doing so left my heart and soul in the process. She had brought, albeit sometimes unintentionally, excitement, and laughter and fun to our lives. To my life.

For a little while after we left, I tried seeing her with my visions. But those visions became incomplete. Missing larger and larger pieces of her life, until a few months later, I tried to look and I couldn't see her at all. All I saw was darkness. Even a tenuous connection was denied me. A punishment for leaving her, I felt.

I kept thinking Edward would go back to her. But he was determined to "let her have a normal life" something she couldn't have with a "soulless monster". Edward could be so fucking emo some times. But I didn't hate him. It was my fault. I left too. Left her behind.

I turned my thoughts away from him, lest he overhear my internal self flagellation and try and read me, hear the thoughts I'd hidden from him, from the family all these years.

Everyone had improved, learned to get on with their lives. Even Edward had improved, was functioning and himself again. Everyone but me. I could fake a laugh. I could pretend amusement or lightheartedness, but I didn't feel it anymore.

I missed her. I missed everything about her. Being here in this house, I couldn't help but see her in every room, in every corner, falling, laughing, teasing. I could almost see her stumbling as she tripped down the stairs, or the twinkle in her eyes as they met mine across the room in mutual amusement at something the boys had done.

There was nothing I wouldn't give to take my decision back. To go back to her and never leave her. Let my family go where they will, but refuse to leave her. Confess to her all of my feelings. But it didn't matter. None of it mattered. The bitterest drinks are those distilled from regret. I left her. She was gone now and I would have to exist with my decisions and their repercussions for all of eternity. Existing and not living.

I didn't even know what happened to her. I'd been too scared to try and find out. All of us had. The whole topic was taboo. Her name wasn't even mentioned. I could hope she'd found happiness. I hoped she'd married, been blissfully happy, had children, and lived to a ripe old age to see her grandchildren.

God, I missed her.

Now I was merely existing. Counting snowflakes as they drifted to the ground. Something I could do to pass eternity away. Eternity alone.

"You'll never be able to count them all." Jasper's soft voice came to me as he stepped beside me on the balcony.

My lips shifted into a small smile. Jasper may not be able to read minds. But he could read emotions. He was the only one in the family who knew how I felt. But he didn't need to read minds to know me. He knew me well enough.

"I know, but it gives me something to do." I replied, still counting as the snowflakes fell. We kept our voices low and inaudible to anyone who might be in the house.

Jasper didn't protest. He didn't try to tell me I could do something else. He understood why I was out here. He understood me better than I did at times.

He suddenly spoke louder, in a voice where anyone could hear. "Have you watched the news the past few days? The attacks in Seattle have stopped."

I frowned a moment at the abrupt subject shift, and turned to look at him. I saw him looking up, and then I heard the slight whisper of sound movement up there, and realized Edward's piano playing had stopped.

"I hadn't seen anything about it the past day or so. It looks like the Volturi stepped in and handled it." I replied in the same level voice, focusing my mind on this topic in case Edward overheard our thoughts. He claimed he did his best not to, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

"Again, for the second time since we've been back in the area. I wonder what's been going on. Have you had any visions?" He asked, as we heard Edward's door shut and then a few moments later the sound of Edward challenging Emmett to a round of the videogame Emmett was playing, a challenge Emmett eagerly accepted.

"No, my visions are hazy about what happened, but I don't sense any danger to us." I smiled in wordless thanks at Jasper. Edward swore he made an effort to leave everyone's thoughts to themselves, but who knew whether it was the truth, it certainly didn't stop a stray thought from getting to him.

"Is it any easier being back here? Changing the memories of this place?" He asked quietly, staring out at the field of snow, reverting right back to our previous topic.

I shook my head slightly, reaching my hand out in the air and waving my fingers, moving the patterns of the falling snow ever so slightly, giving me something else to focus on for a moment.

"No, it's not. We've been back six months. We live in the same house and all I see are memories of her. We started going back to the same school. Nothing else has changed. I see her in every room. I can hear her laugh. Sometimes I can still... feel her. It's like she's not really gone. Nothing has changed. Nothing ever will. And it's my fault. I left her."

Jasper knew better than to spout platitudes or to argue with my feelings. Instead he merely reached out and squeezed my shoulder gently for several seconds and murmured. "You know I'm here for you if you need."

I smiled at his gesture, nodding my head slightly as he went back inside, leaving me out here. I knew I'd never take him up on it. What I needed no longer existed. She was dead.

Bella. My Bella.

There were times I considered going to the Volturi, to end my own existence, I even visited once about two decades earlier. I volunteered when we stayed in Europe for a bit. I went and talked to the Council, even letting Aro read me. Something he was always keen to do.

I remember the odd look he gave me. I assumed he saw the thoughts I'd had about my request, but he hadn't addressed them, and even more oddly hadn't offered me a place in his coven. I assume he must have read in my thoughts it wasn't something I would accept.

I couldn't do it to my family. I was so weak, couldn't stand up to them leaving here the first time, and couldn't bring myself to leave them. About the only thing which kept me going sometimes was Jasper using his ability to manipulate emotions, on me to make sure I stayed on an even keel.

It was just so hard sometimes, especially back here, sometimes it was like I could almost feel… her.

I straightened suddenly my eyes coming to rest at a spot on the ground, for a moment I thought I'd sensed something there. But it was empty as before, I just could have sworn… I felt.. something.

Maybe I'm going crazy. It would be so perfect and so stereotypical. The girl who can see the future loses her marbles. Well, if I was going crazy, it apparently wouldn't be a first for me. After what I found out about my original conversion, when James attacked Bella. He told her all about finding me in an asylum. Me going crazy again would almost be appropriate.

I sighed after a moment and slouched back against the rail. I missed her so much. I would do anything, give anything to have her back. But it wasn't an option. So I did the only thing I could do.

I went back to counting snowflakes.

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**Please Read and Review and let me know what you think!**

**I'm playing around with different styles of writing in different chapters, so some will be first person, most will be third person.**

**I'm still looking for a Story/feedback sort of Beta. If you're interested let me know.**


	3. Bejeweled Actually

**~Chapter 3~**

Neither woman made any sound as they moved through the woods. It was mid-March and the Pacific Northwest was enduring the last gasp of a long winter. They were both clad in black, wearing heavy black overcoats.

Isabella looked around as they moved through the trees, glancing over at Eliza, who held her hand as they walked. It was slightly ironic. Holding hands being a gesture of comfort, only in this case Eliza was comforting her.

"Mother, are you okay?" Eliza asked quietly, focused more on her mother than the area they were moving through.

Isabella nodded slowly as they moved through the forest to their destination. "Yes sweetheart. I'm fine." She gave Eliza a reassuring smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. She knew how much Eliza was worried about her, could even feel it through their connection.

The two months it had taken them to clean up the three cities had been a source of frustration for the both of them. While they had managed to take care of the current newborn threat, they hadn't found the vampire who'd been turning others.

Despite extensive interrogation of several newborns they'd captured, before executing, they were unable to even determine a name or turn up any sort of lead. Something they'd dutifully reported to Aro and the other Volturi. The only thing which mollified them somewhat, is that Jane and Alec were reporting the same problem. Eliminating the newborns, but unable to find the person creating them.

Eliza had been having second thoughts ever since asking her mother to return to this town. She watched her mother carefully. She knew exactly what had happened in this place. She had seen it through her mother's eyes when they originally bonded. She had seen everything through her mother's eyes. Every memory, every hurt, every pain. While seeing her mother's life as a whole had been like watching a movie in fast forward, the deep and impactful memories were intense and vivid.

Eliza knew how much and how deeply this place hurt her mother. But Eliza had hoped coming back may have helped her Mother confront the past. Now she wasn't so sure it was a good idea.

However, she wasn't sure what else she could do. Eliza loved her mother. Eliza knew her mother loved her, despite the fact that her Mother had never actually said the words. But her mother was damaged. Eliza knew, even her mother knew. Most of the time Eliza knew her mother kept her emotions completely walled off. Eliza was the only one with whom she expressed any feelings whatsoever. Usually you could see it in her eyes, though they were red, they were also dark and usually completely void of any positive emotion, unless Eliza managed to coax it out of her.

Eliza knew why. She didn't blame her mother. But… she wanted to see the fun exuberant woman she had seen in her mother's memories. She wanted her mother to stop just existing and live again.

Her mother shook her head again and squeezed her hand in reassurance, as they emerged into a clearing, their destination.

Eliza looked at the house nestled into the wall of the mountain. It overlooked a gorgeous small waterfall. The house itself was built out of sturdy brick and stone and looked like it was built to last, which it was. It hadn't been cheap, but being a member of the Volturi had perks. Membership has its privileges they used to say.

Beyond being gorgeously scenic, the house itself was built right over an entrance to an underground system of caves, so it was also suitable for fight or flight if necessary.

Built next to the house was a small garage, with its door shut. Eliza rushed up the stairs, excited, pulling her mother along with her inside the open door with an exuberant giggle. "This is PERFECT!" She exclaimed spinning around as she stepped into the main room. The rooms were already furnished, though things weren't decorated. She moved through the rooms practically skipping as she went.

Eliza was genuinely excited. This was the first time in her life she actually had a place to truly call her own.

Eliza stopped in the living room with a jolt, as a male, in his mid-to-late 40's stood in the middle of the room smiling politely.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded with a frown, before her mother could say anything to shush her.

The man did not look the least perturbed at being addressed so bluntly, though he did appear to be somewhat confused. "My name is Henry Jansen, and I'm here to assist you in any way you may need."

Isabella stepped around her daughter to regard the man curiously, immediately taking note he was human, which relaxed her and Eliza, though they still regarded him with confusion. "A generous offer... Henry, but I don't think we'll need any assistance."

Henry frowned a moment looking back and forth between the two of them. "Aro didn't tell you to expect me?" He asked curiously, which prompted the two of them to look at one another.

Isabella frowned further. "No he didn't say anything about you."

Henry looked embarrassed, and nodded slightly. "I'm sure it slipped his mind. Please call him to verify before you do anything... rash. I'd hate to end up as a snack at this early date." He said, smiling in a disarming way then sat down on the couch to wait patiently.

"Watch him." Isabella told her daughter. She frowned and pulled a cell phone out of her coat, stepping back outside to call Aro, the screen door closing automatically behind her.

It was 5 minutes before Isabella came back in muttering, "Sorry to be so long, there was a slight issue on the other end."

Henry raised an eyebrow, an amused smile on his face. "Let me guess, he broke his phone trying to learn the complexities of Tetris again?"

Isabella smirked and murmured, "Bejeweled actually."

Eliza daughter burst out laughing. "Well that proves he certainly knows Aro."

Isabella nodded to her daughter. "Yeah, Aro told me he helped get the house set up and he is here for whatever need may arise. He is one of the human affiliates, though he did mention Henry was a rare one, and Henry could elaborate for us." Isabella turned to him with a curious look.

Henry looked a trifle embarrassed for a moment before murmuring. "Well, you know the law about humans knowing about vampires. The only ones who can know are ones who are going to be turned or going to be a meal."

Isabella nodded, "The Volturi have a new secretary pretty much every year, most of them end up as lunch." She said coldly, hoping to affect this man's affable demeanor. "So why are you a rare one?"

Henry smiled self-consciously. "Because I have zero interest in becoming a vampire."

Both Eliza and Isabella blinked. "Then... why...?"

Henry smiled, "Why work for them? I'm a historian. An archeologist of the impossible, the secret history most humans don't want to know. I love history and mysteries. When I was growing up, I always wanted to know what was going on beneath the surface in the world. I happened to discover the existence of vampires at Volterra through some historical documents of property and succession. I'm good at ferreting out secrets. Aro showed up to confront me during my stay in Volterra. I was there searching for confirmation of my beliefs. He offered to turn me and I turned him down. I feel rather proud to have stunned him, his expression was priceless."

"He threatened with changing or death. I told him if those were my options then to go ahead and kill me. I thoroughly confused him. I swore I wouldn't divulge anything I learned, and would happily help however I could, but I was happy the way I was. After I let him "read" me, he's had work for me pretty much constantly for the past 10 years. I think he's hoping I will eventually change my mind."

Eliza frowned, "Why wouldn't you take the offer of being converted into one of us?" she asked.

Henry shrugged again, "Because I don't want to live forever, I want to discover what comes after this life. The greatest mystery of them all. While I'm in no hurry to get there, I also don't want to live forever and not know. Such a life would be... torture. As for why have me help you, I grew up in Oregon originally, so I'm familiar with the area, hence the reason I'm here. "

Both Isabella and Eliza exchanged looks and then looked at him. "Well, I guess we can't object."

Henry smiled and ducked his head in acknowledgement, "I had planned to stay here in the house with the two of you, unless you have objections."

Eliza and Isabella glanced at each other, before Isabella shrugged. "If you're comfortable knowing you're living in a house with two vampires, either of whom might want a midnight snack at some point. You're welcome to stay."

Henry smiled pleasantly. "I'm well aware of the risks. I've lived with those risks for years. Now please don't let me stop you from checking out the house."

Eliza made her way up the stairs to look into each bedroom, of which there were several. She picked the one with the view of the waterfall out her window. Eliza knew her mother would take the one in the attic, as it was the most spacious and had a large window for viewing the stars. Sure enough, she heard her mother set the duffel bag on the bed above, so Eliza slipped out of her room and up into the attic to look around.

"Leave it to you to pick the attic, Mother!" She teased slightly, glad to see the small smile on her mother's face.

"Of course, you know me." Isabella replied with a very slight smirk at her daughter.

Eliza grinned and then darted out of the room and back downstairs to the main room, where there were several large boxes. Splitting the six large boxes evenly, she carried 3 up to her room, and then the other three up to her mother's newly claimed room in a matter of a few seconds, blowing past a slightly startled Henry in the process.

Eliza felt Isabella's unasked question so she grinned. "I love you Mother, but your wardrobe needed some additions to it. You can't wear all black, all the time."

"I swear, if you got me a totally pink or orange wardrobe or something, I'll make you regret it young lady." Isabella scolded her daughter, only half-teasingly.

Eliza laughed. "Of course not Mom, we'll be pretending to be sisters at school. Assuming you actually end up going. So I can't have you looking like the dreaded Volturi 'Assassin'" She teased, and then laughed again when her mother groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why you're so excited about going to school. It's not as fun as all the movies make it out to seem." Isabella warned her daughter for what seemed like the tenth time.

Eliza shrugged "I never got the chance to go to school. It'll be a new experience for me." She didn't give her mother a chance to unpack the clothes or argue with her. Instead grabbing her mother's hand and tugging her back down the stairs.

"Come on, I want to scout the area." Eliza insisted. Isabella chuckled as her daughter pulled her down the stairs and back out the front door.

"We'll be back later Henry!" Eliza called into the house as with her mother in tow.

Both Eliza and Isabella took a breath of the fresh air, enjoying it anew, before Eliza felt her mother give her a gentle shove backward, taking the opportunity to leap away and run toward the tree line calling out as she want. "Let's see if you can still keep up with your 'aged' mother!"

Eliza uttered a playful growl and ran after her, both of them picking up speed as they headed toward the tree line.

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It was probably an hour later, the two of them had been "scouting", though the activity largely consisted of wandering aimlessly as they leaped from tree to tree, chasing one another, Eliza had been pleased at the little bit of emotion she was seeing in her mother and feeling in their connection.

Suddenly her mother stopped and Eliza had to twist and catch a lower branch in midair to keep from leaping right into her mother. Eliza watched in confusion as her mother's head whipped around , a snarl escaping her throat as she sniffed something .

Eliza followed suit, sniffing carefully at the air, but it took her a moment to identify what it was her mother smelled. _**"Vampire, but with a scent like I've never encountered before**_** "** she said in her mother's thoughts.


	4. Knee Jerk Reaction

**Chapter 4**

**-Isabella-**

Isabella had actually been enjoying herself, at least a little. The freedom of leaping through the air with her daughter, the movement and peacefulness of the forest. Something they had not done since her daughter was still a adjusting to her new life. _"I'm so thankful for her, even if she deserves so much better than what I'm able to give her." _Isabella thought, careful to keep her thought private.

Then she had caught a scent. It took her a second to identify it, the smell of blood and vampire. She snarled the instant she detected it, trying to find the location.

**_"Vampire, but with a scent like I've never smelled before." _** Eliza's voice confirmed in her thoughts, even as she leapt and began following the scent. It was light but getting stronger as she continued to move upwind, tracing the source. Isabella had a sinking sensation in her gut, suspecting just what it was she was smelling but needing to _know_.

She felt her daughter following her as she moved, felt her daughter's concern. They had traveled less than a quarter mile before she stopped again, high in a tree. Looking at the ground below she could clearly see a dead deer, but she didn't jump down, stretching her senses out to see if there were anyone close.

_"I hope I'm wrong."_ she thought. A comment her daughter clearly heard in her own mind.

Isabella felt her daughter stop in the tree next to her and wait. After almost a minute Isabella jumped to the ground below and put her hand on the deer's neck.

**_"No no! Not here! Not them! Not now!" _**Isabella's whole body seemed to slump as she crouched. Her entire body hunched, and a whole well of emotions she hadn't allowed herself to feel in a long time flowed through her uncontrollably. She stayed crouched over the body of the animal, her entire body shaking.

It was several long minutes, Isabella's emotions ranging from rage to grief to hurt. She felt her daughter's arms wrap around her, consoling her both audibly and in thought.

She finally gathered herself together and slowly stood, Isabella could feel her daughter's concern and unspoken questions. Isabella looked at her daughter who waited for an answer she already suspected.

"I'm sorry, it's been so long." Isabella said, her voice and tone getting calmer by the moment as she regained control.

"Talk to me Mother." Eliza spoke quietly, Isabella smiled ruefully.

"It's the Cullens. They must be here. This deer was killed and drained less than an hour ago. And… it's their scent. I'm not sure which one. But it's them." Isabella replied, once more steeling herself, walling up the emotions she had let get the better of her.

Eliza didn't speak for several long seconds before responding. "Then let's leave Mother, coming here was a mistake. I didn't mean for this…" Her voice trailed off, filled with regret. Not for leaving, but for putting her Mother through this.

Isabella hesitated for several minutes. She was tempted. God knows she was tempted. To just leave this place behind, leave those people behind. But she slowly shook her head. "No… no. I'm done giving them power over me. Done letting what they did hurt me. I even made sure to hide the two times any of them paid visits to Volterra… but you have to face it sometime." She felt her anger bolstering her determination and stood a little straighter as looking at her daughter.

Isabella saw Eliza give her a careful look before replying. "I won't argue with whatever you decide. But… you say you can handle them being here. Can you handle seeing them? Can you handle them knowing you're here? "

Isabella frowned as she looked down at the deer at her feet, before raising her eyes to meet her daughter's. "Let's find out shall we?" And without another word she took off running, with a clear destination in mind. Eliza immediately followed, hot on her heels.

There was no doubt in Isabella's mind of which way to go as she and her daughter took off running through the forest. This way was much faster than leaping through the trees, though it afforded less stealth.

It wasn't until they leapt over a creek bed still full of patches of ice here and there on its surface, Isabella spoke to her daughter again, this time through their link. **_"Conceal us!" _** She ordered, a command her daughter followed without question. One of her most useful gifts, the ability to completely conceal a person, a group, or an area, to keep them from being detected; not just from being seen, but being heard or smelt as well.

Isabella slowed as she approached the house. Not quite as large as the house they now owned but far more ornate and artistic, with large floor to ceiling windows throughout. She approached the house quietly, and there she saw _them_.

All of them seemed to be in the living room, set up the way she remembered it, _exactly as _she remembered it. A near century had passed and things were almost identical, the TV and game systems seemed more modern, as did the speakers and the lights. But even those were in the same places they had been before. Everything else looked just the same.

Isabella felt a stab in her heart as she looked in at them. There was Carlisle and Esme leaning back against a wall as they watched their family, tease and play, smiles on both of their faces. She remembered the compassion they had always displayed. Esme had practically treated her like a daughter. She wondered if Esme had viewed her more like a stray cat; something to be cared for before being happy to be rid of her when the novelty wore off.

Rosalie, whose beauty Isabella still hadn't seen equaled, sat on the couch running a brush through her hair. Rosalie had never been nice to her, and had probably been happy to leave her behind.

Next to Rosalie sat Emmett. She remembered his laughter, his natural excitement for life and his eagerness to tackle any challenge, anytime, anywhere. He was the practical joker and the one always ready with a good joke. He was on the couch playing a video game clearly engrossed in whatever matchup was occurring, and beside him sat Edward.

Isabella snarled instinctively seeing his face. Seeing him smile as he bantered with Emmett. She even took one step forward, as pure hatred rose inside her, filling her vision with a crimson haze of rage. She'd rip that smile right off his face! She'd slaughter them all. Her instincts taking over as her entire body tensed up.

It was only her daughter's sudden grip on her wrist which brought her back to her senses. Her daughter didn't have to say anything, just reminding Isabella that she was there. Isabella took a deep breath as she stepped back, nodding and then she frowned. She stared for several moments at the face she had loved, that she had thought loved her in return. It looked the same as it had the last time she saw it.

She hadn't been good enough for him. She had been willing to give up her entire life to be with him, and he had crushed her heart telling her she wasn't good for him. She couldn't help the feeling of betrayal and resentment welling up inside her, however this time she managed to control it. For the first time in a long time, she let the anger course through her, until the worst of it burnt itself out.

Isabella felt some confusion as she saw Jasper sitting on the couch, his arm around a tall athletic female, in a position clearly marking them as lovers. Where was Alice and who was with Jasper? It was enough to puzzle her. She stared at the couple for several minutes, trying to fit the pieces together in.

Jasper was the catalyst for them leaving, when he'd tried to attack her at her birthday party. She got a paper cut and he'd lost his control. As Isabella saw it, the attempted attack merely provided an excuse they'd been looking for. Obviously they would have left her eventually, it just hurried the decision. They didn't want to be exposed if one of them lost it and attacked a human. So they curtailed their amusement with her life and departed. She had no idea who the dark haired female with Jasper was.

She felt her daughter tap her lightly on the arm, and point up. Isabella looked up and saw Alice leaning against the porch railing on the second story, looking out in the snow, seeing who knows what. Isabella's eyes lingered on Alice's face for several long moments, a range of emotions running unchecked through her.

She saw the girl she had once been so close with. Isabella had considered them more siblings than best friends. Images flew through Isabella's mind of Alice laughing with her, her random impulsive hugs, and even the shopping trips the girl was fond of. Isabella remembered them all. She once again felt anger rising in her. Alice had deceived her as much as Edward had, making her feel loved, telling her she was part of the family. However, when Edward abandoned her to her fate, Alice hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. Isabella had almost felt more betrayed at those actions. She wasn't even worth the consideration of a good bye from Alice. Another one happy to be rid of a pet who no longer amused them.

So they were all here, plus another one. Someone else they adopted, who they obviously felt was good enough for the Cullen family, when Isabella herself apparently never was. Isabella felt the anger welling up inside her again, the temptation rising to go in and show them just what they'd missed; to hurt them.

Once again she felt her daughter's grip on her arm, which calmed her, but then her daughter's grip became an insistent tug. Isabella turned her head only to see her daughter pointing up at where Alice had been leaning against the rail staring out at the horizon. Only now Alice was looking down at the very spot the two of them stood, with a frown of confusion on her face.

Isabella blinked in surprise; no one had ever been able to detect either her or her daughter when they were concealed before. They could have talked openly while she was cloaking and someone standing right next to them wouldn't have heard a thing. She took an experimental step left, and was relieved to note Alice's gaze remained right on the ground where they had been standing.

Still, Isabella could take a hint, she didn't want to push her luck and have the whole family alerted yet. It would wait for the right time. She turned and headed back into the forest, making sure not to give the house as much as a backward glance. Isabella felt her daughter turn and follow her after a few seconds hesitation.

Neither of them spoke a word as they ran back to their own house, though they didn't go directly there. They took a slightly circular route, making sure their scent couldn't be followed as they crossed through two streams.

Isabella stopped in front of their house; Eliza beside her. Neither of them spoke a word as Isabella looked up into the sky and Eliza watched her. Eliza was the one to break the ice.

"Let's just pack our stuff and we can go Mother. I know how hard this has been for you. I hoped…" Eliza trailed off and looked away before continuing. "I hoped coming back here might help you. But… I didn't think you'd have to deal with it all at once. " Isabella could hear the pure concern in her voice.

Isabella managed a small smile as she looked back at her daughter. So concerned for her mother's health, Isabella shook her head. She had decided she wasn't going to do any such thing. She wasn't going to just run and hide again. "No. I've seen them. They've moved on with their lives. It's obvious. It's long past time for me to do the same. It was good we saw them today though."

Isabella saw Eliza tilt her head curiously, so she grinned and murmured "If I had run into them without expecting it, I might have, acted on impulse, blowing our cover on the spot. At least now the worst of the knee jerk reaction is over"

"So what are you going to do when you see them face to face?" Eliza asked curiosity and doubt evident in her tone.

Isabella frowned as she considered. "I'm not sure. I'll put it off as long as possible, and do my best to just ignore them. They didn't want me. I have another family now, a better family. I have you."

Eliza didn't bother to hide her grin. Maybe coming here hadn't been such a bad idea after all, seeing even these glimpses of genuine emotion other than anger from her mother was exceedingly rare.

_Maybe she was right,"_ Isabella thought. _"Maybe I just need to confront what parts of my past I can."_ She turned away from Eliza and murmured. "Well, one thing is for sure. I doubt boredom will be an issue for a while. "


	5. Roller Coaster

**~Chapter 5~**

**~Elizabeth POV~**

Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions. When Mom found the deer, I was worried she was going to go to pieces. I had never seen her so upset before. She never seems to lose her composure. And yet there I was comforting her on the ground over the carcass of a deer, of all things.

When my mother confirmed what I'd feared. It was the Cullens. I wasn't surprised, I mean, how many 'vegetarian' vampires are there? I practically snarled. The only thing keeping from it was my mom needed me to be the voice of reason for once. I honestly hadn't planned on them being back here.

Mom seemed to recover her composure but then she took off toward their home. Oh yes, I was certain of the direction we were headed. I mean it was the only place we could be heading under the circumstances. This was a new experience for me. Usually I'm the one making rash decisions and running off. I wondered if Mom intended to attack them, and whether I could blame her if she did.

As we cleared a stream bed, Mom's voice snapped in my head _**"Conceal us!"**_ I cloaked us instantly, barely needing to concentrate to hide us from view. It was just in time too since just past the creek rose the house in the woods I'd seen in Mother's memories.

We slowed as we approached the house; I stood behind Mother, alternating between observing the house and observing her.

Inside the house I saw the family from her memories. They seemed happy. The 'parents' I recognized as Carlisle and Esme watching as their children played. The gorgeous blond Rosalie primping herself, while her mate played a videogame on the couch.

I knew the instant mother saw _him_ because she snarled and stepped forward. I reached out and snatched her wrist, holding her in place hoping she didn't fight me on it. And she didn't which was a good thing. She regained control of herself as she continued to gaze through the window. She stared at a tall blonde, obviously Jasper, and a woman who wasn't in my mother's memories. I could feel her surprise through our mental connection. It was then I happened to glance up.

I saw her leaning against the railing looking out. Once I saw her, I immediately wondered what she was doing out there by herself when the rest of her family was inside enjoying each other's company. It took only a second to recognize her as Alice. Then I took a closer look at her face, something really bothered me about it. Not the face itself, as she was beautiful, just as Mother remembered but rather the expression etched on it. I tapped my mom on her arm and pointed up, so my Mom could see her.

I saw the funny look shadow Mom's face, a look of anguish as she looked at Alice. Mom stared at her for several seconds before looking back at the rest of the family, and I had to squeeze her arm again to make sure she stayed calm. I could feel her urge to run in and slaughter them all. An urge I admittedly shared. This family had hurt the one person in the world who cared about me, and I wanted to make them _pay._ I was just keeping careful control of myself at the moment, because I was more worried about Mom.

It only took me a few moments more to figure out why the look on Alice's face bothered me so much. It was the look of someone who wasn't really alive, who was merely there. It puzzled me and I was turning it over in my head when the impossible happened. Her eyes suddenly sharpened and she bolted upright, staring down at us.

I froze. No one had ever seen through my shield, ever. I could have set off a bomb while cloaked and no one would know until it outgrew the area I was cloaking. Yet Alice was looking right down at the spot we were standing in. Mom saw the same thing I did, and slowly moved us away. To my relief Alice's eyes stayed fixed on the spot we had been in rather than following us but it was still quite the jarring experience.

Mother seemed unnerved as well, we decided now was a good time to leave, so I let her guide us away, back toward our home. As we left, I took one more backward glance at the lone girl standing on her balcony. She had returned to staring out at the snow, with the look of hopelessness I had seen too often reflected in my mother's face.

It was an expression that wasn't easy for Eliza to forget.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Shorter than my other chapters, I know. But I wanted this interlude.**

**Thanks you mjustamuggle for Beta reading for grammar! It has saved me so much trouble.**

**Fixed further by DarkBella!**


	6. To the Batcave!

**~Chapter 6~**

Eliza and Isabella spent the next few days settling in, scouting the area, and getting comfortable in their new surroundings. They both had to take the time to feed, so they ventured down to Portland rather than feeding the Seattle area The city was still on edge after the most recent newborn attacks. The attacks the two of them had stopped. Violence and killing the media attributed to an outbreak of gang violence. Some things never change, but it gave them an excellent cover, picking a gang member and feeding on him when he was isolated. Neither objected to sharing, they had done it many times in the past, there was more than enough blood in one human to sate them both for a while.

It wasn't ideal for either of them, but their normal supply lines of blood were still a week or two away from being established and providing a steady stream here. It was an idea Isabella came up with and presented to Aro, Marcus and Caius. Every year, the Red Cross alone throws out 1.3 million pints of blood, because of different diseases, or even little things like too little or too much iron. Vampires were not susceptible to the diseases humans had, so there was no reason the blood couldn't be used. She had proposed idea of "acquiring" this blood to the council. She argued it could be used in any sort of emergency, and as a stockpile. Caius immediately hated the idea, sneering about disliking his food being cold. Marcus had been typically indifferent to the whole concept, but he hadn't opposed it. Aro had loved the idea especially in terms of having an emergency supply on hand; though he explained he had no intention of "going off humans".

They had quietly established several different stockpiles located on different continents in case an emergency supply were needed. Unfortunately they'd neglected the west coast of America. The house had a large refrigeration unit in the basement which, in a week to 10 days, would be stockpiled with blood. Isabella and Eliza both felt most comfortable drinking the blood from those packets, even if it was cold; but neither had any qualms about feeding on humans if it was necessary.

Henry helped out by getting the house arranged in a way pleasing to them both. He also arranged for proper identification and documentation of their new identities. They were officially Isabella and Elizabeth Irutlov. Rather obvious in Eliza's opinion. "Might as well make our last name Alucard" she muttered, but she hadn't raised any more objections or offered any alternatives.

Henry also made sure to get them both enrolled in high school. He took the time to make sure both of them were registered for accelerated college post-secondary courses. It would come in handy, especially if one or both of them needed to miss chunks of time without warning.

Enrolling for school caused a shudder to run down Isabella's spine; returning to school. Putting aside the fact she had never enjoyed school in general, Isabella knew going there would force her to remember things she didn't necessarily want to, and it would force her to interact with _them_ sooner or later. Isabella grudgingly accepted it, the vampire community was small enough the inevitability of dealing with them sooner or later was certain. Seeing them from afar probably helped more than anything else she had done since her change.

What made enrolling for school even more bizarre, was that she was enrolling as a sophomore, the same age as her daughter. A fact Eliza had teased her about more than once. How many people ever attended school with a daughter as a peer? Eliza was very excited about the prospect of going to school. Her life before her conversion hadn't allowed for any schooling.

Isabella knew what her daughter had gone through growing up; she had seen it all when they bonded. Something about what Isabella had experienced had fascinated her daughter ever since. It wasn't the education part which fascinated her, since Eliza had plenty of time for education during her training at Volterra, and between missions. There wouldn't be anything taught in their high school classes she hadn't been already been taught.

Isabella knew her daughter wanted to try to live among people; experience what humans got to experience, and see what she had only been able to view second hand. Now they had the chance and Isabella couldn't deny her daughter the opportunity, though she guessed soon the novelty of the situation would wear off. Isabella assumed she would be attending school far less than her daughter, and Isabella only agreed to enroll because it meant so much to Eliza.

Isabella still checked in with Aro on Saturday evening. Someone had taught him how to use the video camera function on a smart-phone and he spent over half the conversation marveling at the novelty of the whole thing. Isabella gave him a generic update on how they were settling in. His wife Sulpicia had drawn up some of the architecture for the house, so he was eager to hear about how it turned out. Isabella made sure to lavish sufficient praise on it. Before signing off, Aro instructed Isabella to call Jane, to touch base with her.

Isabella dutifully called to see how Jane was doing, and asked her how New York was. Isabella was surprised to find Jane and Alec were in Savannah, Georgia instead. Apparently a rash of attacks there had begun and they were clamping down on it. In a distracted voice, over the sounds of screaming in the background, Jane recommended not playing the waiting game. She and Alec had taken a very proactive approach to handling situations. If there happened to be more than one brutal slaying within a short time in one area, Jane and Alec moved to immediately address the situation. Isabella assured her she and Eliza were taking the same approach before assuring Jane she would keep her in the loop and then ending the conversation.

Isabella was always uncomfortable around Jane and her brother Alec. Isabella knew for a fact the feeling was reciprocated, because Jane made no secret of it. There was no active dislike on either side, however the two of them always seemed on edge around someone their powers couldn't affect; and since Eliza and Isabella were the only two who seemed to be immune, they were a definite minority.

They weren't the only ones in the Volturi who avoided Isabella and her daughter. The others mostly avoided them unless it was absolutely necessary. Isabella had been privy to more than one argument after her conversion with Eliza where Caius had pushed for their death because they were "an abomination." She had heard murmurs from others when they thought they were too far away to be overheard. The murmurs accused them of not being vampires at all and nothing but mutant hybrids.

Aro had stood firm against any and all accusations, refusing to take the most politically expedient solution and have Eliza executed. Isabella was never sure what his motives were. He knew if they tried to hurt Eliza it would come down to a fight with Eliza and Isabella on one side and the rest of the Volturi on the other. It was a fight he didn't want because neither side would win. Aro also knew both of them were very powerful, and Aro was nothing if not ambitious about adding power to the coven. However, Isabella couldn't put the possibility of genuine compassion and caring past him either.

Isabella was always slightly uncomfortable around certain members of the Volturi, specifically Alec and Jane. She knew her daughter felt the same. Beyond the sadistic nature the two of them seemed to revel in a bit too much for Isabella's liking, there was the nature of their relationship. Alec and Jane had been twins changed into vampires by Aro when they were very young according to vampire standards. They were only 13 or 14 years of age when their community had attempted to burn them at the stake. Somehow Aro had found out about it and arrived just in time to put a definitive halt to the proceedings. He had offered to turn the two of them on the spot. He'd had his eye on them for a long while and it was the perfect opportunity. The two of them seemed like they were only bonded to each other, and they were _always_ together. They seemed closer than most mates were, and since they were brother and sister, in Isabella's mind it made the whole thing incestuous.

Isabella knew it was slightly hypocritical; she shared thoughts and emotions with her daughter, and she was the one calling something "weird". Call it hypocritical, or call it a leftover human bias, it was still something Isabella was distinctly uncomfortable with.

Isabella spent some time over the weekend working with Henry to set up the basement with maps, monitors and computers, so they could get information quickly if they needed; and keep tabs on what was happening in the area around them. Henry proved himself invaluable, being very technologically competent something most vampires weren't. Eliza had taken one look at the set up in the basement and promptly dubbed it the Batcave. Isabella had a sinking feeling it was going to stick, especially when Henry took up the moniker with eagerness, clearly unashamed of his geeky side.

It was a little after 3 a.m. on Monday morning, the day Eliza and Isabella were to start school. Eliza told her mother she was going out for a run to enjoy the fresh air for a bit. Isabella privately thought she was going to work off a bit of nerves before school, though she was careful to hide such thoughts..

Isabella was standing on the porch, looking out at the clouds. It had warmed considerably in the past few days, as it tends to in spring, and almost all remnants of the snow were gone, helped along by the rain they received off and on over the weekend.

Henry joined her on the porch and murmured, "I think there's something you need to see."

Isabella turned with a frown to follow Henry as he gestured her back into the house. "Don't you ever sleep?" She asked curiously, as he led her down to the basement. She shook her head with a sigh, noticing a hand painted "Batcave" sign hanging at the bottom of the stairs, her daughter's handiwork, no doubt.

"I've learned to be a night owl, one of the hazards of the job. I thought you might want to see this." Henry replied seriously before pointing at one of the monitors set up in the basement. The monitor was streaming a live news broadcast from the Seattle area, showing an ambulance and several police cruisers with flashing lights. The reporter on the screen was inanely commenting about another possible example of gang violence. Isabella frowned and then bolted out of the basement. She took a few seconds to change into her "work" clothes: all black pants and shirt, gloves, and a long hooded coat, though she didn't cover her head.

"Henry, I'm going to investigate. If I'm not home before school starts, please show Eliza her present in the garage, if you would be so kind?" She asked, stopping at the door.

"Of course, should I tell her where you're going?" he asked politely.

Isabella shook her head, "No, I'll take care of it. I just want the present to remain a surprise until the last possible moment." Isabella disappeared through the door, leaving it open as she sped away, Henry stepped forward and closed it gently behind her.

Isabella ran full tilt toward Seattle, calling out to her daughter via her mind link even as she ran. _**"Eliza, there's been another killing in Seattle, I'm on my way to investigate it." **_

There was a slight pause before her daughter's voice responded. _"__**Give me two minutes to get home to change and I'll join you." **_Eliza's tone was serious, all trace of her usual playfulness gone.

_**"No… It's only one, and we haven't run into anything either one of us couldn't handle alone. Besides, I can't have you out, it's a school night!" **_Isabella responded, her mental voice a bit teasing. _**"What kind of mother would I be if I let my daughter blow off her first day at a new school?"**_

Eliza's responds seriously, _**"You know what takes priority here."**_

Isabella frowned as she continued on toward the city. _**"I know. I promise; if it even remotely looks like I need help, I'll tell you." **_

Eliza grumbled. _**"You better. Are you sure this isn't YOUR way of getting out of the first day of school?" **_

Isabella couldn't help but smile as she saw the lights of the large city ahead of her. _**"Of course not. If I miss today I'm sure I'll get there eventually. Oh, and don't forget to talk to Henry before you leave in the morning. I'll touch base with you later, gotta concentrate." **_Isabella effectively ended the conversation as she followed her keen senses through the labyrinth of the city, leading her toward the sounds of multiple sirens.


	7. We're Not Alone!

**~Chapter 7~**

Given the size of the city, it took Isabella almost 10 minutes to track down the place shown in the news report. When she arrived at the scene, she was careful to stay in the shadows and away from any video cameras, just to be safe. She circled the crime scene until she caught the tell tale scent of vampires. She frowned as she smelled it, because it wasn't just vampire she smelled, there was another scent. The second scent was hard to identify as it had already begun to fade. Isabella hung around the scene of the crime long enough to make sure whatever body they were dealing with, wasn't in any risk of turning.

Isabella frowned as she started to trace the combined smell, choosing to follow the vampire when the unknown stench and one of the vampire's split. Whoever it was did a lot of moving about, and Isabella had a tough time tracking him. It seemed there was no rhyme or reason to the movements. It really bothered her when his scent disappeared into an occupied building resembling an apartment complex, and she had to follow the trail inside, or check the perimeter to find where it continued. It was slow going and time consuming. Dawn came and passed as she continued her pursuit. Luckily it was a rainy day in Seattle, so Isabella was still able to move freely as people crowded the streets, though they irritated her since they diluted the scent she was following.

It was past 11 in the morning, and moving toward noon as Isabella continued to the edge of town, still following the scent. Isabella was idly wondering how her daughter's first day was going when suddenly the scent became much stronger. She put aside thoughts of her daughter's day as she followed the trail, when she suddenly began smelling the other heavier stench. Being able to smell it more clearly, Isabella was able to tell this one stunk of garbage, exhaust, oil, and dog.

The smells lead her right to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Isabella approached with caution, observing the outside of the warehouse for any signs of life. She could hear movement inside, but no one seemed to have noticed her presence. She decided on scaling the wall and sliding onto the roof. Isabella could hear the sound of growling and arguing inside the warehouse as she climbed. She cautiously looked down from one broken skylight into the interior.

Inside she saw six people, Two males and a female she could immediately identify as vampires, and two people who obviously were not; she could tell from their heartbeats. The sixth person was lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, obviously dead, and great chunks of him were missing as if he had been eaten.

"You can't just go running off!" One of the vampires was saying. He was pencil thin, with sandy blonde hair in an unattractive bowl cut, made worse by what seemed to be a giant cowlick on the edge of his forehead. The other two vampires were standing behind either shoulder supporting the man who was obviously, if nominally, their leader. The second male vampire was rather plain looking, his hair close cropped, and he seemed as if he had been overweight in life, because he definitely carried a significant paunch. The female was short with bleach blonde hair and a perpetual sneer on her face.

"Why not? We're not the ones who fucked up!" One of the large muscular men with a heartbeat practically snarled back in the vampire's face. Isabella watched the interaction with surprise. Normally any vampire worth his salt would have snapped any mortal in two at such insolence.

"We didn't either! One of the last group got sloppy and the damn Volturi took steps. We have to rebuild again or the bosses aren't going to be happy." the thin vampire stated.

"You've never even met your boss. Not since you were turned. Who cares whether your boss is going to be upset?" The burly one demanded.

The pencil thin vampire smirked, "Well, your big bad Alpha certainly cares, for one. I admit; we screwed up, so we have to rebuild a bit, it'll take a few weeks to build up our numbers again. By then the boss said we'll be ready to move. No more sneaking in the sh-"

The vampire broke off as the other large mortal, who hadn't said anything, suddenly snarled, and sniffed audibly at the air. "We're not alone!"

Isabella blinked in surprised as after a few moments one of the mortals looked up at her unerringly and then cursed herself for her sloppiness. She hadn't concealed her presence and they'd spotted her.

"We have company!" The mortal yelled and all five people looked up. Isabella wasted no time. She leapt downward from the rooftop, through the skylight, smashing into the male vampire who hadn't said anything yet. His head snapped off as though he were a statue.

Isabella stood on top of the headless body spinning to keep her back away from all of them. "Sorry to interrupt."

The thin vampire's eyes opened wide as he took her in, his voice erupting in a cry half in terror, half accusatory. "Volturi!"

The two mortals reacted to this news, backing up, and snarling. Isabella heard the snarls, and the sudden shredding of fabric, but she was already spinning to catch the outstretched arm of the female vampire as the blonde tried to leap at her. Isabella gave the arm a quick twist and a tug and effectively ripped it off at her shoulder, the girl to screaming in agony. Isabella completed her movement, hitting the screaming vampire in the side of the head with the side of her fist, knocking it completely from her shoulders, sending it rolling away.

As she turned she was hit in the back by a large weight, knocking her off balance as what seemed to be a snarling pile of fur tried to force her to the ground. Isabella rolled to the side, thrusting her legs back and kicking off the large snarling wolf. Isabella stared wide eyed at the two large snarling wolves were trying to circle her along with the lone remaining vampire.

"I wondered what stench was! God, someone needs to give you mutts a bath." Isabella smoothly ducked as one of the wolves darted forward to snap his jaw at her. She slammed her fist into the bottom of the wolf's jaw, knocking the wolf back and spinning it.

"Not as easy as trying to stomp unaware vampires is it, bitch?" The thin vampire demanded with an arrogant smile, only to have the arrogant smile disappear, when the wolves, as if in mutual agreement, turned and burst out the door of the warehouse in a full sprint. The vampire turned in shock, "Where are you goi-" The rest of the statement was cut off as Isabella grabbed him by his hair and slammed his face into the ground.

Isabella kept her foot on the back of the vampire's neck as she stretched her senses out, listening for any sign of an oncoming surprise attack. After waiting a full minute for any sounds of returning wolves, over the sounds of a futilely struggling vampire beneath her foot, she was satisfied they were gone. Isabella lifted the vampire from under her boot and slammed him into a wall. "Now, we're going to talk."

Five minutes later the thin vampire, was divested of both of his legs and his arms, and he still hadn't any information to offer Isabella hadn't heard before; beyond the fact they were supposed to be working with the wolves. The vampire had never even seen his creator or knew who was giving him instructions. He'd been captured, changed and then contacted via phone by a male with a deep voice. Isabella took the moment to rip the head off the last vampire, his screams of protests getting on her nerves. Taking another two minutes to set fire to the pieces of all three vampires, Isabella stopped and picked up the shredded pants remnants belonged to one of the wolves, before taking off out the doors in an attempt to follow their scent.

Isabella followed their scent for half a mile before it abruptly stopped. It took her a moment to figure out they must have escaped down a manhole. Isabella took one sniff of the manhole before figuring out trying to track them through the stench would be absolutely fruitless. She stood on the street for a few moments before she turned and set off back toward home, jeans still in hand.

_**"There's a major problem. After school, put on your work clothes. We have to take another trip down memory lane."**_ Isabella sent to her daughter as she turned to head back home.


	8. Everyone is Going to Stare

~Chapter Eight~

_"She totally did that on purpose."_ Eliza thought to herself as she ran a brush through her hair. She glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the past 10 minutes. Eliza would never admit it, but she was actually nervous about going to school. She was excited about the prospect, but she couldn't help the nervous twinge she kept feeling. Class started promptly at 8 o'clock, and it was already 7:30. Eliza had scouted the school over the weekend, getting an idea of the layout of the grounds. She had found an open window on the third floor of the building and explored the school thoroughly in the darkness of the night. She didn't want to be utterly clueless when she arrived for her first day of classes.

To Eliza it would be a completely different situation though. The school would be full of people, she wondered how they'd react to a new person. Would she be subjected to stares? Would people be welcoming or would they think she was a freak? Eliza wondered as she hoisted a mostly empty book bag onto her back and headed out of her bedroom and down the stairs. She had spent half an hour trying to pick the appropriate clothing, before deciding on a pair of flattering black jeans, and a grey teeshirt; underneath a dark sweater that matched her pants.

Eliza reached out to her mother, and could tell from the images she received that her mother was in full out tracking mode, so Eliza made no attempt to talk to her so as not to interrupt her hunt.

Eliza remembered at the last moment to poke her head down into the Batcave, as she'd dubbed it, to tell Henry she was headed out. Eliza had found herself warming to the mortal, as he had an open and welcoming attitude, and seemed completely at ease in their company.

"Hang on a second!" Henry stopped her after she poked her head down. She waited as he came up the stairs and gestured for her to follow him out the side door to the adjoining garage.

"Your mother wanted you to have a present for your first day of school." Henry said as he stepped aside to let her see. Eliza had poked her head in the garage earlier that weekend and had only seen boxes of all shapes and sizes, but she hadn't bothered to explore further. However, this time when she entered, in the middle of the floor, one of the boxes was opened. Eliza let out a gasp as she saw her present.

Sitting in the middle of the garage floor was a sleek looking Kawasaki motorcycle, a dark purple in color. She knelt closer to the motorcycle, running her hands almost reverently over the lines of the body, the label on it identifying the model as a Ninja. Right in the center of the handlebars was a little note which was short and sweet.

_First day of school, everyone is gonna stare anyway. _

_Might as well give them a reason. _

_~Mother~_

Eliza folded up the note and slid it into her back pocket with a grin, turning the key in the ignition and savoring the sound and feel of the engine springing instantly to life. Eliza turned to grin at Henry who was holding out a black helmet and a pair of gloves to her. She frowned a moment at the helmet before looking up at him, the question obvious on her face.

Henry shrugged a little, "I know you don't need it, but I also doubt you want a ticket for riding without a helmet."

Eliza sighed slightly, taking the gloves and putting them on quickly. She then took the helmet from him and carefully fit it over her head, only to find that it indeed fit well. She looked back up to see Henry press the button to open the garage door. She gave him a wave before kicking the bike out onto their dirt drive with a laugh.

It took Eliza a few minutes to get used to the motorcycle as she pulled out of their long dirt drive, onto a paved road, finally taking off toward the school. Eliza knew that she could move much faster than the bike, but there was just something enjoyable about riding it, and feeling the power beneath her. She made a mental note to thank her mom when she wasn't mid-hunt.

By the time Eliza arrived at school the parking lot was almost full, but the ride there had done a wonderful job of ridding her of the nervousness she had been feeling. She assessed the parking lot as she pulled in. She mostly saw what looked to be used and older vehicles. There were clusters of students gathered in different areas around the parking lot and on the sidewalk, and she felt every eye in the area on her.

Because of her helmet, Eliza saw them before she smelled them, but they stuck out like a sore thumb. The Cullens. Even their eyes were on her as she pulled up and parked in an area reserved for bicycles, one that obviously didn't get much use. She took a moment surveying the area as people whispered to one another, before she kicked down the kickstand and shut off the motorcycle. Eliza didn't wait for someone to get the nerve to approach her. Eliza slid off the bike, pocketing the keys as she did. As she walked purposefully toward the main building, she tugged on her gloves, pulling them completely off. With the length of her stride, Eliza entered the school before tugging her helmet off and tucking it underneath her arm.

She made her way straight to the office, enduring the stares of the few students who'd entered the school early and weren't hanging around outside. When she entered the office, she walked right to the desk where a woman who looked to be in her 70's manned the desk.

"Can I help you sweetie?" the woman asked in a friendly voice.

"Yeah. I'm starting classes today. I was told to swing by here to pick up my schedule?" Eliza responded

"What's your name dear?" The secretary asked as she shifted through a few papers.

"Elizabeth Irutlov. My sister and I were both supposed to start today, but she got suck handling some issues that came up during our move." Eliza replied

"Welcome to Forks High, Elizabeth. Here's your schedule and this map will help you to get you to your classes, as well as the location and combination of your locker. Have your teacher's sign off on each class you attend, and then bring that slip back at the end of the day. If you run into any trouble or can't find a class, most of the students should be able to help you get where you're going. If they can't, feel free to come back here." The secretary said kindly, then her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper and she winked. "Don't worry, some of the students may be cliqueish, but they don't bite."

Eliza took the paper with a grin and winked back. "That's okay, maybe I do." her reply caused the secretary to laugh.

Eliza quickly made her way to the location listed for her locker, open the combination lock with ease, and dropped her helmet and gloves off, before lifting her bookbag on her back and headed toward her first class, listed on her schedule as History.

The school was starting to fill up, as students finally entered from outside. She made it to her first classroom and there was only one other student there. She spoke to the teacher for a few moments, before he handed her a book signed her slip and then directed her to a seat in the back of the class next to the girl already sitting there. The girl's dark hair obscured her face, but she already had a binder on her desk, and was slouched down with a book in her hand.

Eliza made her way and slid into the seat next to the girl, who glanced at her and then shyly averted her eyes. Without waiting for the girl to work up any nerve, Eliza held out her hand. "Hi there, I'm Eliza Irutlov. I'm new here."

The girl looked up from her book and looked around as if she was stunned someone was speaking to her. Eliza saw the girl's eyes focus on her and then widen in shock, that was quickly covered up by a tentative smile and it took her several seconds before she took the hand, "Oh...hi I'm Hailey. It's nice to meet you." Hailey frowned at Eliza as if trying to figure her out.

Eliza smiled as she looked at Hailey. She was attractive in a shy demure kind of way, and her slightly dusky complexion and darker features hinted at a hispanic heritage somewhere in the family.. She had the bookworm vibe about her. Hailey looked like she was about to say something else, when she was interrupted by a high pitched voice.

"Hi! You must be the new girl! I'm Jennifer Thomas!" The owner of the loud voice was a bubbly bottled blonde staring down at Eliza as she stood by her desk, though her arms were wrapped around the binder and books, so a hand wasn't offered; Eliza noticed that she seemed to shoot a glare at Hailey, and said "What are you looking at, freak?" which caused Hailey to duck her head back into her book.

Eliza was frowning as Jennifer snapped at the girl "Hello, I'm Eliza." she said politely if somewhat coldly, a fact that seemed to pass by Jennifer completely.

"I saw you pull up in the parking lot this morning! Like, that was SO cool!" Jennifer continued, "I can't believe your parents let you ride a motorcycle, my parents would like... flip out!" She bubbled on, offering to show Eliza around, offering to "let" her sit with her and her friends at lunch. She only paused long enough to ask Eliza where she was from.

Eliza dodged the question, having expected it. "We've moved around alot, but we were in Portland last." This fact started Jennifer off on a tangent on how cool it must have been to live in a big city. She kept talking until the bell sounded for class to start.

Throughout the class, Eliza noted the speculative frown that Hailey kept giving her, as if she couldn't quite piece something together. However when the bell rang it was mostly forgotten as Eliza was 'treated to' an 'official tour' by Jennifer, who insisted on walking her to her next class, which was Biology so she wouldn't get lost. The teacher was a severe looking older woman who signed off on her attendance slip, handed her a book and assigned her to a lab station all without looking up from the book she was paging through. The lab station she was assigned partnered her up with a slightly overweight kid that was stunned when she introduced herself.

If anything he was almost more shy than Hailey had been in Eliza's first class. It almost took a physical nudge just to get him to share his name, which turned out to be Justin. He was tall, and dressed in a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. He kept his hair cut short, and it was obvious he was used to wearing a hat. While he was very shy when it came to anything beyond "Hi" and "It's nice to meet you", once the teacher told them they could begin disecting the frogs, Justin became more assertive explaining things to Eliza as they went. She didn't need the explanations but Eliza made sure to give the impression of total attention, which seemed to be a surprise all on it's own to the timid student.

When the bell rang, Eliza thanked him for all his help, to which he spent 30 seconds stuttering out a "You're welcome."

The rest of Eliza's morning classes continued in that same vein. Teacher's signing off on her slip, giving her a book, and mostly welcoming her to the classes. People greeted her between classes, offering to show her around and help her. Eliza made the mistake of mentioning to a teacher that her sister wasn't able to make it today, which caused another round of questions as that factoid whipped around the rumor mill. Eliza received more than one compliment on her eyes, though more than once she was asked if the striking violet color was due to contacts.

She made it through the first 5 periods of the day, waving off more than one offer to escort her to the lunch room, to which Eliza said she wanted to stop by her locker and the bathroom. Eliza went and dumped all of the books she'd gotten from teachers, save for the mathbook, in her locker. She entered the lunchline on the side, picking food at random and setting it on the tray she picked up. She paid a few dollars to the lunch lady for her meal and then went out into the main area of the cafeteria.

Eliza almost laughed, every head in the room turned at once to look at her. It was obvious enough why, many people were just getting their first look at the new girl. With some effort Eliza kept her face fixed with a slightly disinterested thoughtful look. She carefully made her way over to the table where Jennifer Thomas looked like she was about to have a seizure waving frantically for her to join. She recognized the faces of several people that she had been introduced to throughout the day, including several guys who gave her more than a quick once-over. Eliza also noted that Hailey was sitting off in a corner table with Justin, and another girl who definitely seemed to favor the gothic look.

She sat down at Jennifer's table, observing the other table from the corner of her eye, and tuning Jennifer's babbling out since it only required occasional nods to indicate interest. Jennifer introduced the people at the table, something Eliza only half paid attention to. There were her friends Jessica and Brittanee, who Eliza instantly could tell seemed to be the social queen bees. It took her about 30 seconds to realize that Jessica and Brittanee had about as many original thoughts as the chair she was sitting in. They seemed to hang on Jennifer's every word and laugh sycophantically at anything she so much as smiled at.

Then there were several guys who made their introductions, Kevin, Cameron and Jay. All three were large, over 6 feet. Kevin was clearly the largest and most muscular, and looked to be about 6'5; and the other two males seemed to defer to him slightly. Cameron was slightly shorter, and slightly less muscular, while Jay was slightly taller but more wiry. The three of them were obviously considered the alpha males of the school.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the reaction of the people she was most interested in, the Cullen family. Eliza was careful not to let the slightest sign cross her face. The look on the face of every one of the Cullen's was priceless. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper all wore stunned expressions, their eyes not moving from Eliza as she crossed the room to sit down. Jasper's mate whose name Eliza still didn't know had a puzzled frown, one that deepened when she took in the expressions of everyone else at her table. Edward's expression was even more comical. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, moving slightly but no sound escaping. Alice's face was a mixture of shock and confusion as she watched Eliza sit down. Their expressions were something she made sure to etch firmly into her mind, as she tuned her ears in an attempt to hear what they were saying.

It was almost a minute before Emmett, whose voice was deep even in a whisper, broke the ice. "Holy shit... is that the new girl? She looks like…"

Rosalie had struggled to get her expression under control, which was slightly more restrained "The resemblance is there." she allowed.

The one whose name Eliza didn't know yet spoke up. "She's one of us. No heartbeat." The woman stated quietly, causing 5 other heads to whip around to look at her for a few moments before looking back at Eliza for independent confirmation

That reaction caused Eliza to laugh out loud. Fortunately for her, Jennifer laughed at the same time, which made others think she was paying attention, and kept her minimal part of the conversation up.

"She's right" Jasper murmured, "There's no heartbeat. She's one of us. But I don't think it's... her."

The group at the Cullen table looked at Edward after they'd confirmed with their own ears that Eliza had no heartbeat. She heard Edward say in a strangled voice. "I... I can't read her." She managed to keep a smirk off her face, as they all turned again to regard her with wide eyes.

Then she heard Jasper speak up. "I'm having trouble reading her clearly, it's like something is partially blocking her. I see flashes of amusement, and anger." The only person that didn't say anything was Alice, who was looking at her with an expression that Eliza could only call haunted.

"Is it possible that its Bella?" Emmett asked

It was Alice that shook her head firmly, her voice was decisive. "It's not her, she looks similar, but it's not... the same. She's someone different. Perhaps she is a descendent or relative?"

"A descendent, that just happens to be one of us? I... think that's a bit big to be a reasonable coincidence..." Jasper responded, still frowning, though his face showed doubt.

"I don't... think it's her." Edward said, but doubt filled his voice as his eyes remained fixated on her.

"We need to talk to Carlisle and Esme. They need to know about this." Eliza heard Rosalie say insistently.

Hearing enough for now, Eliza smiled at her table mates who had each been babbling a bit about themselves, and trying to impress the new girl with inside jokes. Eliza excused herself, feeling every eye in the room on her when she left, and dumped her tray in the trash before heading through the doors.

Eliza made sure to take her time before heading to her next class, Chemistry. Eliza arrived just before the bell rang. She introduced herself to the teacher who signed off on her slip and handed her the book for the class. "Go ahead and take a seat next to Mr. Hale. You can partner up with him, and if you need to get caught up on something I'm sure he could help."

Eliza almost groaned. She should have known her luck wouldn't hold out that well. She didn't let her exasperation show on her face, as she made her way over to the study table, and took a seat next to Jasper Hale.

She didn't favor him with a smile as she settled into the chair, and took out her binder to at least look like she was taking notes. He stared at her for several long moments focusing on her eyes, before he finally leaned over and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Jasper."

Eliza looked back and forth from his hand to his face several times, before turning back to the appearance of taking notes, not bothering to shake his hand, giving him a short, "I know." in response, causing further confusion to spread across his face.

When it became obvious that she wasn't going to say anything else, Jasper decided to turn his unspoken question, into a spoken one. In a polite request with a slight southern drawl, "Is there a name you'd like me to call you?"

Eliza frowned a moment before starting to reply quietly, "My name i-" She cut off as her mother's voice suddenly rang in her head.

_**"There's a major problem. After school, put on your work clothes. We have to take another trip down memory lane." **_Isabella's voice rang in her mind quite suddenly.

Eliza frowned, sending a wordless question back to her mother, to which she received a playback of the events that occurred for her mother in the morning. She was busy watching the events that had occurred that morning to her mother.

Jasper frowned at the statement that was cut off mid-word and prompted "Your name is...?"

Eliza frowned, and responded almost distractedly "Elizabeth, but I prefer Eliza."

_**"Mother! You said you'd let me know if there was any action!" **_Eliza scolded her mother.

_**"No, I promised I'd get you if I needed help, and I didn't." **_Isabella's voice replied calmly.

_**"Where are we going to go?" **_Eliza asked her mother curiously, pretending to pay attention as the teacher lectured.

_**"Like I said, we're taking a trip down memory lane. We're going to La Push. We need to find out more about those wolves." **_ Isabella's voice replied.

_**"Meet you at the house after school, after I make sure I'm not followed." **_Eliza said

_**"Develop a fan club already?" **_Isabella's amused voice came back.

_**"Oh I have several. Chief among them being the Cullens. They're trying to figure out whether or not I'm you. One of them is trying to talk to me now, so I'm probably about to make it worse." **_Eliza truthfully admitted_. __**"And while I'm sure they'll find where we live sooner rather than later, I think I'd rather it not be right before we run off to confront a bunch of overgrown mutts. Henry may not enjoy unannounced visitors."**_

There was silence for several seconds before her mother's voice came back with an audible and disappointed sigh. _**"Well, I guess I'm not too surprised they can't tell the difference. I'd tell you not to do anything to antagonize them, especially on my behalf. They aren't worth it, and there's no point to it, but I'll just save my breath. Just don't get too creative. I'll see you when you get home."**_

Eliza zoned back in just in time to hear the tail end of Jasper asking another question. "-an you tell me where you're from?" It wasn't often she zoned out when talking to her mother but that exchange had been particularly important, and interesting. Eliza was beginning to think that this really had been a good idea, even if she hadn't intended for her mother to deal with the issues regarding the Cullens immediately. Her mother seemed resigned to it at this point.

"Oh, I'm from here and there; I've moved around alot." Eliza couldn't resist a little smile as she murmured her reply, enjoying the slight twitch of Jasper's mouth as the effective non-answer irritated him.

A few moments passed before Jasper asked his next question. "What brings you to Forks?"

Eliza had to give him points for determination, and she shrugged. "We wanted to settle down for a few years. This seemed like an ideal place." Eliza realized the slip almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"We?" Jasper followed up, his brow furrowing in thought, not missing the slip.

Eliza frowned, cursing herself for getting cocky in her own amusement, her face turning serious as she studied the whiteboard the teacher was writing on. It was too late to take back the slip. "Yes, my... family and I."

"I… see. How many are in your... family?" Jasper asked showing he hadn't missed the hesitation on family.

The professor's voice rose at that point to ask if there were any questions, and the bell rang almost as if on cue. Eliza didn't wait as she slid her binder and book into her bag, and then turned to face Jasper. Her dark violet eyes meeting his amber colored ones, speaking too quietly for any of the other students to overhear.

"I will tell you that I'm not who you're wondering I am. I do know the answers to the questions you have, but even if your abilities work on me, the answers aren't mine to give. And since I know Edward's ability is useless on me, your cov- I'm sorry, "family" will have to find another way to get the answers you seek." Eliza turned on her heel, to head for her last class leaving Jasper sitting stunned in his seat. She looked over her shoulder at him and called out and waving a little as she left. "Good luck."

Eliza headed toward her last class of the day, this time it was a physical education class. The teacher was a friendly older man, who was burly and overweight, told her that she wouldn't be expected to dress for that day. He outlined some basic rules about being on time, changing quickly and to participate, and ensuring that it would get her a fine grade. She nodded and then went to take a seat on the sidelines as she watched the game of kickball, picking out people she recognized, most of whom gave her waves or stopped to chat when they had a moment. It seemed that most of her class had gym last period.

When the bell rang, Eliza was quickly out the door. She stopped by her locker to dump her bookbag and snag her helmet and gloves. Students were just beginning to file out of the building as she fired up her motorcycle and zipped out of the parking lot.

She went full speed down the road leading away from the school. She chose a patch on the side of the road, pulling the bike over and standing it up. Eliza then used her ability to conceal herself. Eliza was almost disappointed that none of the Cullens had made any attempt to follow her home. She waited several minutes to be sure, before kicking her new bike into gear and heading home again.

Getting home in less than five minutes, Eliza pulled onto their dirt driveway and pulled the bike into the garage. She was off and into the house before the sound of the engine stopping had even registered. Moving with preternatural speed she changed out of her school clothes into the black pants, shirt, and cloak with hood and then, pulled on her gloves as she walked back down the stairs.

Eliza stopped in her tracks in the living room. Her mother's hair was still slightly damp from the shower she must have taken, otherwise she was dressed identically. Eliza watched with a puzzled expression on her face as her mother had her head tilted back, and was in the process of putting eye drops in her eyes.

"What on earth are you doing Mother?" Eliza asked, voicing her thoughts.

Eliza watched as her mother tilted her head forward and blinked her eyes rapidly for a few moments, before turning to face her daughter. Eliza frowned further, her mother's eyes were now a dark brown. She stepped forward and looked closely. "Contacts? Why would you bother with those?"

"They're not contacts." Henry said stepping forward to get a look himself. "Contacts make it harder for you to see, because you can see see all the minuscule imperfections and scratches that are inevitably on them. This is more like... a food coloring. It's something one of the new Volturi guards came up with. Sasha I believe is her name, and from what I understand she seems to be a bit of an inventor."

Henry peered closely at Isabella's eyes. "A dark brown, I would have never guessed otherwise. How does it feel?" He asked her.

Isabella blinked a few times and grinned "I can't even tell that anything's changed. How long does it last?"

"I was told it lasted anywhere from six to eight hours. After that the venom in your body starts to break the coloring down, just like it does contacts. She's sent us enough to last damn near indefinitely. So, you won't need to worry about contacts when you're out in public. Would you like to try?" He offered the bottle to Eliza.

Eliza shook her head "No, I'm okay. Most people just assume I'm wearing contacts anyway. Besides, purple is alot less noticeable to people than bright red." She shot a grin at her mother, who just shrugged.

"Let's head out, we need to visit some old stomping grounds." Isabella turned and headed out the door, stopping only to grab a small book bag and handed it to Eliza. "Hang onto this for me until we need it?" She asked.

Eliza took the bag and then grimaced "Ugh, this stinks. Did you kill a dog and then leave it out in the sun to rot for a week or three?"

"No, if I had killed a dog, this might actually be alot easier." Isabella replied and shook her head, and then took off into the forest. her daughter close on her heels.

_**"Once we get there, I want you to conceal yourself and only yourself."** _Isabella told her daughter using their mental connection as they moved.

**_"Why do you want me to conceal myself?" _**Eliza asked, more curious than anything.

**_"A couple reasons. I'm fairly certain that the initial welcome won't be friendly. The wolves' have quick and violent tempers, and sometimes it takes a bit to get through to them. I have no idea who to talk to, so we'll be going in blind. I want to have an ace in reserve in case it's absolutely necessary. Second, I'm curious as to whether or not your concealment abilities work against them." _**Isabella replied.

**_"It works on everyone." _**Eliza replied, sounding slightly hurt that her mother was questioning her ability.

**_"Maybe, but the wolves have really acute senses. They're natural enemies of vampires, that's the whole reason they exist, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that they can sense more than we can hide. So, don't drop out of hiding unless you've been spotted, or unless I tell you to." _** Isabella replied.

**_"What if they attack you?" _**Eliza asked, concern etched in her voice.

**_"Oh I absolutely expect them to, and while they're not to be underestimated, I think I'll be okay. The real challenge will probably be not killing them before talking sense into them." _**Isabella replied with a grin and then she slowed to a stop in the middle of the forest. **_"This is it, the boundary line of the treaty. Jacob showed it to me once. Remember, stay concealed unless I ask you otherwise." _**

**_"I just want to go on record as saying; walking onto their land in plain view and waiting for them to attack... best plan ever. Of all time." _**Eliza said sarcastically. Though she nodded her concession to Isabella's plan and cloaked herself. effectively vanishing on the spot, even from Isabella's sight. Eliza jumped up into a tree, and watched her mother with a concerned look as she stepped forward.


	9. Partially Your Fault

**~Chapter 9~**

Isabella took a deep breath, pulling up her hood, concealing her features. She was slightly more unnerved about this than she let on, but she took a step across the boundary line. Almost immediately the scent of dog came to her nose, though it was different than what she smelled from the dogs she had encountered earlier in the day.

She began to walk slowly deeper into the territory, toward the direction she remembered the Quileutes living in. She made no secret of her approach, moving slowly, with hands at her sides as she walked purposefully through the forest.

Isabella made it almost a mile into the territory. A snarl was her only warning as a dark silver blur suddenly charged her from her left. The attack was sudden and vicious and almost certainly would have succeeded if Isabella hadn't been on edge from the moment she crossed the boundary line. She ducked, using the leaping bodies momentum to send it tumbling far beyond it's intended target.

"I'm not here to fight! I need to speak to your alpha!" Isabella shouted but she didn't have time to do anything with her advantage, as a slightly smaller sleeker wolf with black spots in its fur, attacked head on. Isabella thought the wolf seemed familiar but had no time to dwell on it. The wolf lunged in snapping at Isabella's hooded face. She just barely managed to keep out of his range. Isabella spun with the next lunge, slipping around the side and kicking the wolf in the ribs, causing him to skid along the ground, until he slowed enough to roll to his feet.

Isabella turned immediately; the vaguely familiar dark silver wolf was charging her again. Instead of dodging, she met the charge head on. Plowing into him, Isabella got a grip on the fur of his chest. She twisted her body sending the wolf sailing into a nearby tree.. The wolf fell to the ground amid several broken branches, only to regain his feet again immediately snarling loudly.

"Paul? Is that you?" Isabella asked, disbelief in her voice as she recognized the familiar form of the wolf. The question stopped the wolf cold as it regarded her, curiosity warring with urge to fight.

Sensing her advantage at the wolf's reaction Isabella turned to look at the other wolf, who had stopped moving when he'd heard Paul's name. "Embry? Is that you too?" Isabella's tone was still filled with shock. A slight whine escaped the wolf at the question, and he looked over to the slightly larger wolf clearly they were unsure of what to do.

"I'm not here to fight, I need to talk to whoever the current alpha is." Isabella said, her voice still expressing shock with the familiar wolves.

The two wolves seemed as if they were debating for a moment before one of them settled back on their haunches and howled loudly. After 15 seconds or so, there was an answering howl off in the distance.

Isabella watched the two, and murmured. "It would be nice to actually have a conversation with your alpha, and I'd prefer to do so with him in some clothes, if you wouldn't mind reminding him." She watched as the two wolves looked at her. The smaller wolf, the one with grey fur with black spots, lolled his tongue out and huffed in short bursts in what she assumed was laughter.

It wasn't even two minutes later when she heard the patter of paws as not one, but four wolves joined the first two, watching her.

She saw all four of the wolves but she focused on the largest one. She stared in shock at the large wolf with russet brown fur. "Jacob?" Her face stayed concealed in the hood so they didn't see her staring in open mouthed surprise, but there was no disguising the shock in her tone. The wolf tilted his head slightly before turning and leaping away into the tree. He returned less than a minute later in human form, barefoot and dressed only in jean shorts.

Isabella stared as he came back into view, another shock to her system. He looked almost exactly the way she had remembered him. Short dark hair and a tribal tattoo on his right arm. About the only thing change from the person she remembered so vividly, was his slightly scruffy face, as if he hadn't shaved in a few days, and the scowl on his face. She corrected her thoughts after a moment, because she _had_ seen that look on his face before, but it had never been directed at her.

"What are you doing on our property leech? You know the treaty is void if you trespass on our land." Jacob demanded, despite his human form the wolven snarl was still in his voice.

"I am not a member of the Cullens. Your treaty is with them, and therefore not void." Isabella replied, struggling to regain her equilibrium as she faced someone she never expected to see again.

"Who the hell are you? How the hell do you know who we are? Why shouldn't we kill you where you stand. You're a bloodsucker. Your life is forfeit." Jacob snarled again voice full of contempt.

"My life was forfeit a long time ago. But I hardly think it fair for you to threaten to kill me for being a vampire since it's partially your fault." Isabella shot back, her irritation rising.

"My fault?" Jacob asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Partially your fault." Isabella snapped at him. Her irritation momentarily getting the best of her, she reached up and jerked the hood back from her head, looking into Jacob eyes. "You swore I was safe, and you would protect me. Well, take a long look at just how good a protector you were." Isabella half yelled at him, her voice rising for a moment

She was rewarded by seeing his jaw drop, and his face drain of color.

"B..Bella?" He asked, stunned. "I thought you... I thought you were dead. I thought the red-haired bloodsucker killed you."

Isabella waited for him to get over his momentary shock. "No... she didn't. Sometimes I wish she had. What she did was so much worse, and I don't mean turning me."

Jacob frowned, looking utterly at a loss for words.

Isabella took a deep breath, before continuing apologetically "I'm sorry. I… didn't expect to see you. It's been so long. I thought…" She trailed off a moment before squaring her shoulders and looking him in the face. "You told me once no matter what happened, you'd be my friend. Does this change things?"

She watched as Jacob's jaw worked slowly. This meeting was something she'd never imagined. Isabella recalled the discussion she had with him where he told her so long as they shifted they didn't age, but she'd assumed he would have stopped shifting when the vampires left. While he was working it out in his head, Isabella saw in her peripheral vision one of the smaller wolves, which had arrived with Jacob, turn and leap away into the woods.

Jacob finally responded. "How could this not change things? I thought you were dead. Now you're one of _them._ I don't know." Jacob sounded completely confused for a moment. "I think... I think we need to bring this before the council. But... I will allow you on our lands provided you don't hunt. At least until the council makes a decision."

Isabella nodded her head, though she couldn't stop a flash of disappointment from crossing her face.

Jacob shrugged, looking uncomfortable. A pretty woman with short dark hair, in a light tank top and jean shorts walked up to join him. She looked like she was 21 or 22, with loose black hair, cut at her shoulders. She slid her hand into Jacob's giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. He turned to look at her for a moment before turning back to Isabella. "I would like to introduce you to my wife and my mate. This is Tekali."

Isabella stared at the woman for a moment before her face broke into an honest grin. "Jacob Black! You told me you hated the idea of imprinting!" He to blushed a bright red and Isabella could see a flash of a young boy she had once called her own private sun.

Tekali hesitated only a moment before she walked forward and offered her hand to Isabella. "Hi there, believe it or not I've heard... and seen a lot about you, and despite the circumstances, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Isabella reached out after a moment's surprise with one of her gloved hands and took the offered hand, frowning in confusion. "Seen about me?" Isabella asked.

Tekali tapped the side of her head with a finger. "Wolf pack. No secrets."

Isabella looked Tekali up and down once before grinning over her shoulder at Jacob. "You totally lucked out with this whole imprinting thing didn't you?" Prompting Jacob to blush a bright red and Tekali to burst out laughing and exclaim. "I like her!"

Isabella looked at Tekali a moment and then at Jacob, and hesitated a moment. "With your permission I am going to do something which will surprise you, but please don't freak out." Isabella looked at Jacob and grinned. "Especially since I doubt you brought a second pair of pants." Her remark made Tekali giggle again.

After seeing Jacob nod, Isabella stepped back as Tekali took a few steps backward to her husband's side.

"I have someone of my own to introduce you to." Isabella said. There was a sudden small sound of a tree shifting as the black cloaked shape of Eliza seemed to materialize mid leap from one of the trees. Several of the wolves tensed, one even started to snarl, as she landed on her feet in a partial crouch in front of Jacob.

"It's nice to finally meet you Jacob. Believe it or not, I've heard and seen about you too." Eliza said teasingly as she straightened to stand erect, echoing Tekali's statement from a few moments earlier. Eliza pushed back her hood and gave an impudent bow.

"I would like you to meet my daughter, Eliza." Isabella said dryly.

Jacob stared at the girl in front of him with wide eyes, surprised for the second time in as many minutes. "Daughter? You have a daughter? And she's a vampire?" He asked, looking absolutely befuddled, but equally unable to deny the resemblance between the two women.

Isabella shrugged slightly. "The relationship is... complicated. I didn't give birth to her, but... yes I'm her mother. It's a long story."

Jacob struggled, trying to sort out the emotions he was feeling as he looked at the two women. "This is a lot to absorb all at once... I... like I said, I think I need to bring this to the council," he finished.

Isabella nodded, understanding what he left unsaid. Her presence there had come straight out of from left field and he was still processing everything. "Well, your next council meeting will probably be a long one, because we all have a major problem."

Isabella's statement prompted Jacob to frown at her, so she nodded to her daughter, and Eliza tugged the backpack off her shoulder and tossed it to Jacob, hitting him right in the chest. "Take a whiff of what's in there."

He caught it with a confused expression, opening the bag and taking a deep breath and then looked up at Isabella with a still puzzled expression. "What is this?"

Isabella shrugged her shoulders. "I was hoping you could tell me. I picked it up this morning in Seattle. I ran into two wolves in a warehouse."

Jacob frowned more deeply tossing the bag in front of the dark silver wolf Isabella had identified as Paul. It took a long sniff before shaking his head as well.

"None of the pack was anywhere near Seattle today." Jacob stated with certainty.

"Then we have an even bigger problem, because not only did I run into the two wolves there, they had killed a human, and were working with vampires."

Several of the pack members to growled and Jacob to straightened up to his full height, his expression deadly serious. "I think I better hear the whole story."

Isabella nodded slowly, and then began to share everything. She explained the reason for their presence in the area due to the recent spate of newborn attacks. She purposefully digressed as she explained what exactly what was happening and what it meant, before relating the events of earlier, up to and including the deaths of the three vampires, and the escape of the two wolves.

Jacob listened to the whole story and then turned to regard Paul who, like the others, hadn't switched back to human form. "Paul. I want a meeting including everyone. Tonight. Get the Council. Get all of the Elders. Get the entire damn pack. No excuses. No exceptions." Jacob's voice exuded authority and Paul turned then bolted back toward the reservation.

Jacob hesitated a moment as he turned back to Isabella then spoke. "I would like to extend an invitation for both of you to join us this evening." There was a snarl from one of the two wolves who'd come with Jacob, but it was cut off immediately as Jacob glared at the offending wolf. The wolf shook slightly and bowed his head in submission or apology before Jacob turned back to Eliza and Isabella.

"It will take a few hours to get all the Elders. Would you be willing to meet us again this evening?" Jacob asked formally.

"What time?" Isabella asked

"Let's say 10pm at the boundary line?" Jacob answered.

"We'll be there." Isabella nodded, gesturing for Eliza to follow her.

Eliza followed Isabella, who stopped once more to stare at Jacob for a few moments, before turning back toward the boundary line. They walked at normal speed, though they could both hear the patter of paws as the wolves followed them until they crossed the line.


	10. No One Deserves That

~Chapter 10~

Once they crossed the boundary line they continued to walk at normal speed. Eliza watched her mother carefully trying to gauge her mood. Eliza let the silence stretch for several minutes as they walked before she finally asked. "Mother, are you okay?"

Eliza watched as her mother stopped and leaned against a tree. Looking up into the sky, she started to talk slowly. "I... never expected to see him again...Ever."

Isabella turned to look at her daughter, "When I was first changed... after I escaped, I was a little crazy. I could only see myself as a monster. I thought he would hate me. Once I... calmed down so to speak, part of me was so scared he would revile me because of what I had become. The other part of me was so _angry_ at him. For awhile I sort of blamed him for everything. There was this anger I felt for him not being there to stop Victoria, combined with the all the anger and resentment I had in me from... being abandoned."

Isabella took a shuddering breath before continuing, "By the time I sorted it out, you know... figured out who I should be angry at and for what reason, I thought he would be an old man. I didn't have the heart to go back. And now... here he is, just as I remember him."

Eliza smiled a small smile and murmured, "Not just as you remembered him. He's imprinted on someone, and she's obviously imprinted on him as well."

Isabella managed a stuttering laugh "Oh no, I was never... in love with him. I mean I cared for him, but as my best friend. He was my rock when I needed one so desperately. Which...is why I was so angry, I hated him and all he ever did was try and help me..." What remained of Isabella's composure shattered and her legs buckled.

Eliza caught her mother before she could fall, wrapping her up in her arms. For only the third time Eliza could ever remember, her mother cried. They were different than vampires, and this was one of the ways. When the emotions were truly extreme their bodies produced tears. Right now her mother was feeling a maelstrom of emotions. Eliza just held her as she continued, feeling the torrent of emotions running through her mother, but knowing she couldn't do anything to stop them Eliza just kept her close and let her cry herself out.

It was nearly half an hour before it subsided. Eliza could feel her mother quickly calming down now this particular storm of emotions had passed.

Isabella took a deep breath and straightened, smiling weakly at her daughter. "Thank you. I... feel better. I really needed that I think."

"As long as you didn't get tears all over my coat it was no problem." Eliza teased, making a big show of checking her shoulder and then wiping it off furiously, which prompted another laugh from Isabella. After giving Isabella another to settle, Eliza murmured quietly. "Now what?"

Isabella shrugged a little bit, glancing at her watch, seeing it was just after 5, "Now, we head home for a few hours before coming back for the council. I'm sure it's going to be interesting."

The two of them headed home, not running, both of them letting the cool misty air of the forest help to clear their minds.

"Mother, can I ask you something?" Eliza queried quietly. She worried about her mother and didn't want her sinking back into bad memories in silence.

Isabella opened her eyes to look at her daughter curiously. "Of course."

"When you met with Jacob… what did you mean by about…. imprinting?"

Isabella frowned, "It's a little difficult to explain," she hedged. Seeing her daughter's interest didn't wane Isabella continued. "Jacob explained it to me once. It's something about their kind. When a wolf sees their Imprint, they just _know_. Suddenly there is no other person for them. Their imprint is their mate."

Eliza frowned, "So… it's like love at first sight? Must be nice; to know certainly and quickly whether someone is the right person for you," she said, a trace of envy in her voice.

Isabella shook her head in disagreement, "It is like an extreme version of love at first sight, only a million times more potent. Their entire world flips. All previous relationships become secondary."

Eliza frowned deepened further, "I'm not sure I see the problem," she confessed.

Isabella shook her head slowly. "When I was initially hanging out with the pack, back before I was changed, their Alpha's name was Sam. He was the first person to change into a wolf in their generation. When he changed, he was with a girl, they had been high school sweethearts and were engaged. They even worked through the difficult time when he changed with no one else to help him." Isabella frowned further, her memories unpleasant.

Eliza nodded "Sounds like it was a good imprint then, what's the problem?"

Isabella shook her head again, "The problem is she wasn't his imprint. One day she was visited by her cousin and best friend. One look and Sam imprinted on her cousin."

"So… he just left her?" Eliza frowned, her disgust evident.

"No, He tried to fight it, but he was lying to himself and to her. He had no choice. The imprint was too strong. He hated himself for breaking her heart. She was deeply hurt, but then she transformed into a wolf as well. Afterwards she understood what happened a bit more, because the pack shares a mind. She could see what he went through, though she was still upset and bitter." Isabella replied.

"What happens if one of the wolves imprints on someone who doesn't like them? I mean what if they imprint on someone who's happily married or something?" Eliza asked curiously.

Isabella shrugged, "It's not always about convenience. When I was here, one of the pack imprinted on a girl who was two years old."

Eliza stared in horror, "That's awful, wanting to.. to.. mate with someone so young!"

Isabella spread her hands in a placating gesture, "From what I understand, for someone who imprints; the whole focus in their life becomes wanting to be close to the person they imprinted on and make them happy, sexual feelings don't enter into the situation until much later, when the girl has matured. And while it's not always easy, or immediate; with that sort of devotion and connection, it's hard to refuse a relationship. And to be fair, I didn't see a single imprint relationship which wasn't sickeningly happy." she finished with a roll of her eyes.

Eliza fell silent, frowning in thought and considering what she had just been told. This time Isabella watched her daughter closely. Eliza grinned at her mother "You know, for someone who was over 100 years old, Jacob looks damn good."

Isabella actually laughed at that, "Yeah, but I never felt those things for him, and his mate would probably rip my face off. Not to mention, he just wouldn't hurt someone and especially not an imprint. "

Eliza laughed a little, "I know, and I'm obviously not interested, I was just commenting."

Isabella frowned at her daughter and murmured "Don't worry, you're young. You will find your own mate sooner or later. From what I understand, with vampires it's not as sudden or immediate, you just find yourself being drawn more and more to your mate over time, but the connection is not any less powerful."

Eliza frowned at her mother, blushing slightly. "I could say the same to you, you know. You'll find someone."

Isabella shook her head, her lips drawing up in a bitter self-mocking smile. "No, that part of me died before I became a vampire. I'll never have another relationship, never a mate."

Eliza shook her head, "Mother, that's not true!"

Isabella turned her head, fixing her gaze on Eliza, her voice suddenly cold and very dark. "You know what I've been through. We may not be monsters, but we all have monsters inside of us. You know how close to the surface it is in me. How close I've come to losing it a few times."

"Yes but you haven't lost it," Eliza countered, though she kept her tone mild.

"No, I haven't, not yet. As a human I wasn't good enough to be a mate. As a vampire I'm too angry, I need to have control over my life too much to allow for a mate. You remember how I was when I found you. I had almost no humanity left. It hung from a thread before we bonded. I'm more stable now because of you, because of our connection. Heaven forbid if something were to happen to you. If I were to lose you, nothing on earth would be able to leash the monster inside me. Aro would need to have me hunted and killed. Otherwise I would be a plague such as the world has never seen; a monster without a conscience and without fear of consequence. I would be the same with a mate, and no one deserves that." Isabella's voice seemed to tremble at the mere idea.

Eliza stepped forward and wrapped her mother in a tight hug, reassuring her without words. She wasn't going anywhere. Eliza had never heard her mother say these things before and she was struck by just how lost her mother seemed. Eliza shook her head slowly, but didn't pursue the argument any further.

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**If you liked it/loathed it. please leave reviews! I always appreciate them!**


	11. Coincidence? I think not!

-Chapter 11-

"What do you mean there's not much we can do about it?"

The Cullen house was in an uproar. The entire family was gathered in the living room. Jasper was getting a headache from all of the strong emotions flowing through the room, and not even the waves of calm he was sending out seemed to be doing much good in ratcheting the intensity of the situation down a notch.

Carlisle was standing straight, his pose stiff. Esme was at his side with her hand lightly on his arm; they were both watching their children closely. Carlisle's eternal curiosity was clearly evident; he'd never been able to resist a mystery. Worry and confusion were written plainly on Esme's face. All of her children seemed to be worked up in one way or the other about the arrival of this vampire who so closely resembled a woman whom none of them had seen for nearly a century.

Rosalie was sitting on the couch, her face cast in an angry scowl. She hadn't _disliked_ Isabella when they met and she and Edward had been involved. But Rosalie had disliked the idea that the girl may have wanted to give up the opportunities a human life offered for the unchanging eternity of a vampire, a life she herself had never asked for or wanted. She'd grown to resent Isabella after her family had been forced to leave Forks the first time, especially after the multi-decade fit of depression Edward had gone into.

Emmett was directly behind Rosalie, his hands resting on her shoulders giving her a gentle massage, almost unconsciously. From time to time he'd remove his muscular hands and swing his arms back and forth as if working himself up, he always had excess energy to burn. Emmett had always liked Isabella, he'd thought she brought an energy and sense of fun to the family. She brought the family to life and pulled them out of the stagnant routines their lives had become. He had disagreed with Edward's decision to leave, but supported his brother despite his own misgivings. He was as shocked as anyone when he saw the girl who'd had looked so similar to Isabella, and even more shocked to learn the girl was a vampire. He remained unconvinced the girl _wasn't_ Bella. He had told the others that, and despite disagreement, most vocally from Edward and Jasper, his opinion remained the same. He didn't see how it was as big a deal as everyone seemed to be making out of it and was all for confronting her directly as a group.

Jasper and Adara sat on the couch, hands clasped. Adara was by far the calmest in the room, but only because she was the only one of the group who'd never had direct contact with Isabella. She only met Jasper and joined the family after Isabella had been out of their lives. Jasper was also thoughtful, frowning as he once again went over the entire conversation he'd had with the vampire calling herself Eliza. He'd caught flashes of anger and amusement from the girl, and flashes of something he'd never seen before. It was as if she was feeling two different ways at once, two separate but equally valid emotions rather than the confused mishmash of feelings most people displayed.

Alice was sitting on a windowsill, one leg propped up and she stared out at the pervasive light drizzle as it splashed against the window, listening to her family discuss the matter. She'd been utterly silent since they had seen the vampire in the cafeteria. Just seeing the new girl had brought hurt welling up inside of Alice, and for once she wasn't burying her thoughts and feelings. She'd looked into the future and she was safe for the day. Edward was too consumed with his own thoughts to overhear anyone else at the moment without concentrating.

For a few moments in the cafeteria Alice had thought she was seeing further proof she might be losing her mind. However when her family also saw the girl, she'd dismissed that thought. Alice could tell it wasn't Bella, but there was no doubt of the resemblance, and a very close one at that, Alice remembered Bella vividly, and her face had a slightly different structure, eyebrows slightly further down, her expression subtly more serious. In spite of that; for those few moments she thought she'd seen a ghost.

Edward had been a mess all day. It was too reminiscent of when he'd seen her in that same cafeteria all those years ago. This new girl looked so much like his Bella it was eerie. Until Adara had labeled her as a vampire, Edward thought it might be possible for her to be a great granddaughter or something. He'd tried to read her, and was utterly unsuccessful. This was only the second time in his life that had happened. Was it his Bella? He shook his head in disagreement, trying to convince himself as much as the others. It _couldn't_ be. He was pacing back and forth in the room, his teeth gritting when he repeated himself. "What do you mean there's nothing we can do about it?"

Carlisle looked at his son calmly, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "What is there to do about it?"

Rosalie piped up, "I don't see what the big deal is, I mean there's a very close resemblance but it's not... Bella." The certainty in her voice cracked slightly, and she hesitated over the name, and Edward tensed slightly. The family had spent the last 90 years deliberately not mentioning _that_ name, and it was a tough habit to break.

Jasper spoke up in reply, his voice calm and reasoned. "I am concerned for several reasons. First, another vampire coven is in Forks, and it seems their intention is to settle here. Second, this girl, calling herself Eliza, bears a striking resemblance to Bella, but it… seems… obvious to… most of us that she's _not_ Bella. Third, this girl knows us. She knows us well enough to know about the gifts Edward and I have, and she knows enough about them to know that he can't read her mind."

Jasper paused a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing. His calm voice had captured the attention of every person in the room. "Now, there is the possibility that it is a coincidence. But I regard that possibility as so remote that it shouldn't even be considered. A girl looking like Bella showing up in Forks, that girl _just happening_ to be a vampire. That vampire _just happening_to know about not only Edward's power, but mine is well. And that vampire who knows about our powers also _just happening_ to know that she is immune to Edward's powers; which as far as we know has only happened once before, with Bella. To any sane person I'd say that's too many facts lining up to be any sort of coincidence."

Edward spoke up, looking thoughtful. "How do we know she's part of a coven at all? We've only seen her. She may be on her own." He seemed rather pleased with this idea.

Jasper spoke up in reply. "We've only seen this girl, but I don't think she was lying when she used the plural and said 'we'. It seemed like a slip at the time. It didn't seem like she was trying to deceive me. She would have done better just leaving me guessing."

Emmett spoke up immediately "So I think we should track down her coven!"

At that point Alice spoke up, "Why?" Everyone turned to look at her, most frowning openly in confusion as she continued. "It's obvious that she knows what and who we are. It's obvious she doesn't want anything to do with us. If she did she'd have introduced herself when she saw us in the cafeteria, or when she talked to Jasper. What good is going to come from us trying to hunt them down and confront them?" Even as Alice made the argument, she could see that her family wasn't going to agree but she felt bound to at least make the effort.

"Can you tell us what might happen Alice?" Esme asked her, concern evident in her voice.

Alice sighed visibly and shook her head slowly. "No, I can't see her at all. I didn't see her until she walked into the cafeteria today, and I've tried to see her future, and it's blank. There's nothing there. That doesn't change my point though!" She finished, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Adara spoke next, shaking her head in disagreement with Alice's statement. "While I agree the lives of others are their own business, in this case we have to know more. At the very least we have to get an idea of their… diet. If they feed around here with any regularity it could expose us."

Adara's statement elicited nods of agreement from everyone around the room but Alice and Esme.

Carlisle spoke up, frowning at that "That is something to consider, we don't want to be in a position where we are exposed because of the feeding habits of others."

Jasper felt obliged to speak up at that. "She did say they were planning on staying for a while, I doubt they'd want to risk exposing themselves either."

Edward spoke up at that point, "There are also the mutts to consider. If this other coven feeds on someone around here and the wolves blame it on us, they could attack, thinking we broke the treaty."

Rosalie snorted at that, "Who cares? They're just a bunch of overgrown dogs." Her disdain for the Quileutes had never been hidden and she was quite vocal about it.

Carlisle crossed his arms seeming thoughtful and the room lapsed into silence. "I think we should talk to this girl to see if we can arrange a meeting with her coven just to introduce ourselves and at least get an idea of who or how many we're dealing with."

Jasper spoke up, "I don't know that an approach like that would work. She didn't seem very forthcoming with me."

Esme spoke up, "Maybe someone else should try talking to her, see if they get a better response."

Edward spoke up quickly. "I'll do it. I'll see if I can get us a meeting, maybe a bit more information from her." Once again, he seemed excited by the idea. He appeared to relish the idea of getting a chance to talk to her one on one.

Carlisle frowned a little bit. "Are you sure you're the best person to do it?"

Edward's enthusiasm was growing, "Yes, I want to find out about her and maybe she'll talk to me. I mean, I doubt I could do worse than Jasper. There's a possibility she didn't expect to see us either, and we caught her completely off-guard. Maybe that was the reason she was so snappish with Jasper. Give her a day to cool off, and show her a new face, and maybe we'll get more. And I'm probably the best at talking to people. Who knows?"

Carlisle slowly nodded in agreement, "Okay, Edward will try and talk to her. If that doesn't work, we can explore other options. We can wait a day or two, but if we can't get something set up by then, I want to notify the Quileutes. I don't want them thinking we violated the treated because a vampire from another coven trespassed on their lands by accident. Are there any objections?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes but said nothing, and Alice shook her head slowly, disagreeing but knowing that she was outvoted. Everyone else nodded in agreement before the family meeting broke up.

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**Thank you to the response that this story has gotten from some readers. I have two new Beta's. Cevvin, who's read the story and provided some feedback.**

**And most especially to DarkBella who has been SUPER amazing in bouncing this chapter back and forth and making edits and helping make sure the story says what I want it to say. Thank you... you are awesome.**

**Please remember to review! I do read the reviews and if you have pm's enabled I do respond, even if it's just a simple thank you!**


	12. Now For Something Completely Different!

-Chapter 12-

At 9:30 Isabella and Eliza returned to the Quileute boundary line, and waited patiently, after all, they had nowhere else to be. After their arrival, they waited for the escort they knew would inevitably come.

Both women wore the same black outfits they had worn before, pale skin sharply contrasting with the dark fabric. Isabella stood ramrod straight, eyes closed, she never seemed to truly relax so this pose was certainly nothing new for her, breathing in and out slowly, while Eliza simply crossed her arms and leaned against a tree.

"What if their council decides to tell us to piss off?" Eliza asked suddenly, her eyes reflecting her curiosity.

"Then we're no worse off than we were before we met with them." Isabella shrugged lithely. "At the very least they have to be concerned about wolven involvement."

A soft growl interrupted their conversation as a familiar dark silver wolf loped into view.

"Hello Paul," Isabella greeted him politely. "We're ready to follow you in."

The large wolf gave a little bark in response, turned and began to lope back from whence it came. Assuming this was all the invitation they would get, Isabella and Eliza followed the wolf into the forest. What started as a slow lope picked up until they were running with the wolf through brush and trees. The two vampires easily kept pace with the wolf until he slowed down, reverting to a walk as they entered a large clearing.

Standing at the edge of the clearing was Jacob, in a pair of loose jean shorts, and a sleeveless shirt. Isabella noted that he had shaved as well. Next to him stood his wife Tekali, her expression open and friendly. After Jacob approached the two women, Paul turned and trotted toward a bonfire that had been set up and was burning about 20 yards from the trees on the other side of the clearing.

"You look much better without the facial fur." Eliza commented as they approached, Tekali burst out laughing as Jacob gave a little huff of irritation.

"I keep telling him the same thing." She said as she gestured for the two vampires to follow them.

As they made their way into the clearing, Jacob lead them toward the fire where several people were already sitting, with a dozen more standing around the blaze. All of them turned warily to watch the approach of the newcomers.

Jacob murmured quietly, "Just so you know, there may be some trouble at the start, I haven't had time to make sure everyone knows I invited you. If something happens let me take care of it please. I promise to handle it." His face seemed honest and sincere.

Eliza and Isabella exchanged a look before they nodded in unison. Then Eliza turned to Tekali and murmured, "You brought a spare pair of pants for him didn't you?"

Tekali grinned and nodded murmuring quietly. "Two pairs." Eliza giggled. Isabella smiled a tiny bit, pleased that her daughter seemed to be so relaxed.

They approached the bonfire but before they got close enough to be seen clearly by the light of the flames, Jacob said quietly. "Stay here until I call for you please." Tekali stopped with Eliza and Isabella to wait. Since they were closer to the fire now, they were able to get a look at the people sitting around the fire. There were five in all. An old man, who appeared to be in his 80's, two men who seemed to be in their late forties. Two women were also seated, one was in her late forties as well, and one looked to be in her early thirties. There were 9 other people that stood around the fire, all of them appearing to be in their mid to early 20's. All of them looked very fit, and all of them bore the tribal tattoo of the pack on their shoulders.

As Jacob approached the fire, one of the men in his forties spoke up. "Why did you call this meeting?" he asked, clearly curious.

Tekali murmured quietly to Isabella and Eliza. "That's Steven, one of the council elders."

Jacob looked around at the people gathered, ignoring the question he asked. "I called for everyone, we're missing two pack members. Where are Leah and Seth?"

Paul stepped forward into the fire light, "Seth had that meeting with those landowners to the north. He's spent months trying to arrange it. He's hoping to discuss purchase price with them. It just wasn't something he could blow off. If he's needed we can bring him later. Leah should be here in a few minutes, she was pretty far north in the Canadian forest this afternoon. "

Jacob nodded in acceptance and then turned to address the five people sitting by the fire. "I've called this meeting because of a major issue that has come up. This is serious enough I've invited two outsiders to our council. What we have to discuss was reported by them, and concerns us all." At that point Jacob gestured in the direction where his wife and the two vampires were standing, gesturing them forward.

When the three figures approached the firelight, there were gasps from 4 of the 5 council members, the only one who didn't react strongly was the woman in her forties, though she seemed surprised and displayed open curiosity. The reaction of the pack members was much more demonstrative., The ones who hadn't expected such guests (which was practically all of them) snarled, and exclamations of "Leech!" and "Bloodsucker" were the most common reactions. Loud growls rent the placid night as three of the pack members shifted into their wolf forms and began to move towards the vampires, who stood there quietly, without showing any emotion at all.

"NO!" Jacob shouted, stepping between the wolves and the two vampires. He snarled at the three wolves. "If you wish to challenge me as Alpha, we are at a council meeting and you are free to do so. But they are not to be harmed. I have invited them to this council. They will not be harmed while here at my invitation. Is that CLEAR?" His glare moved from wolf to wolf and then even to the pack members who hadn't shifted. Once they each gave some sign of acknowledgement, he turned back to the council.

"There's no need to be rude, go ahead and introduce us, Jacob." The woman in her forties said calmly.

Jacob gestured to the two vampires who took a step into the light. "This is-" He began

"Bella?" The old man who looked to be in his 80's said, his voice sounding stunned. "Is… that you? We all thought you were dead!"

That caught Isabella off guard, and she frowned in confusion at the old man. "I'm Isabella.. I'm sorry… I don't…."

The old man began to laugh, a rich deep laughter filled with a strength that belied his age. "Oh I'm sure you don't recognize me, it's only been nearly a century… It's me. Quil Ateara."

Isabella blinked several times, which succeeded in eliciting more laughter from the old man. "I know, I know. I got old. I don't shift anymore since Claire isn't a pack member. We've aged together but it sure beats the alternative."

Isabella to nodded slowly, remembering how, when she was human, Quil had imprinted on an infant Claire, the niece of Emily, the pack leader's fiancé at the time."Well this certainly is a surprise, I would never have imagined. So you're a council member now?"

"Yeah, you're not supposed to be on the council if you're an active pack member. Believe it or not I'm the Elder now. For a few more years anyway. So, you're a vampire now?" The old man chuckled again and shook his head, waving his hand to wave off the answer. "Sorry, stupid question, it happens when you get old." He chuckled softly, "And who is this?" he asked, looking at Eliza with obvious curiosity.

"This is my daughter Eliza." Isabella responded, Quil's familiar easygoing personality, if not face, made her feel a bit more at ease. Quil had always been easy to be around since he was so friendly, as a result she had always been partial to him among the pack members.

Quil gestured for the two of them to sit down on available logs, and then he stopped and looked up at Isabella sharply, and then grinned. "Maybe you should scoot the logs back a bit from the fire. You had a tendency to have trouble walking flat surfaces in full daylight." he said, laughing again almost as soon as he had completed the sentence.

Eliza looked at her mother in surprise when Bella actually threw back her head and laughed. "Trust me, that's not an issue any more. Vampire reflexes and all."

She and Eliza took the offered logs, sitting casually. They were careful however not to get too close to the flames, and Isabella remained very aware of the pack members positions. Quil's reaction to them seemed to have helped put the council and the pack a bit more at ease, though the three that had shifted into wolf form remained that way. Tekali and Jacob took seats next to the two vampires.

Quil shook his head in amusement and then gestured towards the other members of the council. "This is Steven Clearwater, and Colin Littlesea, and this is Susan Avery, and Rita Uley" He said gesturing to the two men, and then first the woman in her early thirties, and then the woman in her forties who hadn't reacted with a gasp upon seeing the vampires. The only member of the council who didn't seem to be getting over his shock was Colin, who still stared at the vampires with mistrust written clearly in his eyes and expression.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Isabella Volturi, and as I said this is my daughter Elizabeth Volturi. Though she prefers Eliza." Isabella replied formally, bowing her head slightly in respect to each member of the council. Isabella didn't meet Jacob's eyes when he raised an eyebrow at her stated last name.

Steven tilted his head to regard Jake thoughtfully. "So why did you call this meeting? It must be serious to insist on the entire pack and council being present, not to mention inviting two bl- vampires into our very midst as well."

Jacob looked around first at the council members and then at the pack members who were still standing warily and listening. "I think it might be easier if Bella explains it, rather than hearing secondhand from me."

Isabella looked around herself before speaking up. "It was twofold. First, I wanted to let you know as a courtesy that we were in the area. So you were aware of your neighbors, so to speak."

"Two more members added to the Cullen clan, while not a reason to celebrate by any means, is hardly an urgent reason to scare everyone here to death. What is so earth shattering here? Why the emergency council?" Colin sneered in disgust.

Isabella shook her head quickly and responded before Jacob, who was opening his mouth, could get a word out, could. "No, we are not members of the Cullen clan. In fact they only found out today we were here. A few hours before your pack did, as a matter of fact. Or rather, they found out about Eliza, they don't know about me just yet. I have… no love for them. So for now you know more than they do just by knowing about the two of us." That statement caused some raised eyebrows all around, no-one looked more surprised than Jacob.

"Is there a reason they don't know about your presence? And why would you chose to inform us first? You know there is hardly a lot of love between your species and ours." Rita was being kind in her evaluation of the relationship between the wolves and vampires but still she spoke up curiously, her tone expressing thoughtfulness.

"As I said, I have no love for the Cullens. The issues are deeply personal, I assure you. Jacob can certainly vouch for that." Jacob nodded his head quickly before Isabella continued.

"Secondly, as you can tell I have a history with the pack. While… I admit I didn't expect anyone from the pack I remembered to still be around, nearly a century later, the pack's history is one of acting with honor. They protected me like I was a member of their family when I had been abandoned. Not just abandoned, but left vulnerable to a vampire who wanted nothing more than my death. The vampire who stalked me eventually caught up to me, but not due to lack of diligence or effort on the pack's part. I didn't doubt such a legacy of honor and dedication to protecting those who need it had been continued." Several of the pack members couldn't help but grin and seemed a bit proud after Isabella finished.

"That brings me to the second reason I'm here." Isabella continued, making sure she had everyone's attention. "After I was converted to a vampire against my will, eventually I was taken in by the Volturi. We're the most powerful coven in the vampire world, and we're... policemen for lack of a better word. We enforce the laws that keep us safe and hidden from the humans. I'm what you could call an enforcer. We both are." Isabella gestured to her daughter before continuing.

"Lately there has been a huge rise in attacks upon humans in several different cities around the world, most notably in the U.S.. My daughter and I were sent to deal with the attacks happening here on the west coast. "

Susan spoke up at that point. "We had noticed waves of "gang activity" on the news, though the violence seems to have settled down in recent weeks. That was you?"

Eliza grinned and nodded "If you mean the settling part. They performed the violence, we settled it...violently."

Isabella nodded her agreement before continuing. "There was another attack last night. I went to investigate, and I traced the scents of the attackers from the scene of the crime to a warehouse. Inside I found a dead human, three vampires and two wolves. Not only did the human look like he had been partially eaten by the wolves, but the wolves and the vampires were working together."

At that comment there were several angry snarls and denials. Quil held up his hand until things quieted down. "How do you know they were wolves?"

"Because I saw them shift with my own two eyes. They decided discretion was the better part of valor and ran off, managing to lose me when they ducked into the sewers. There were far too many overpowering smells down there for me to track them, and I wasn't foolish enough to charge blindly into such a situation." Isabella replied. "I brought back an article of their clothing which one of them lost when they shifted, something I am certain you are all familiar with." Bella paused and gave Jacob's wife a significant glance. Tekali responded with a snort of amusement. "Jacob and Paul can verify what they smelled to you."

Jacob nodded quickly, though it was Paul who spoke up first, stepping into the firelight, wearing just a pair of khaki shorts. "She's right. Whoever that was, is a wolf, there's no doubt about that. But it isn't one of our pack. I would recognize the scent. "

At that point there was the sound of running paws, and when both vampires and the council looked up, Paul spoke again, "That's just Leah. I told you she was close."

As he said this, a grey wolf, bounded into the clearing and cantered towards the bonfire. As she approached the fire, she suddenly skidded to a stop. The wolf stared at the people surrounding the fire, staring at the two vampires, her body seemingly frozen in place, she was apparently rigid with tension.

Jacob stood up "Leah, it's okay. They-" He was cut off as suddenly the three pack members who had remained in wolf form jumped to their feet and began whining in what could only be described as shock.

Confusion crossed the faces of the members who'd remained in human form as the whines continued. Jacob frowned and abruptly shifted into his wolf form, shredding his clothes in the process. He stared at the new arrival for a few moments before emitting a whine of shock of his own. One by one the pack members shifted on the spot. Though three of the members, one of the men, Tekali and the other woman were smart enough to step away from the camp light, and quickly strip to save their clothes before changing.

"What's going on?" Steven asked looking at Quil, as the wolves all stood facing one another, a mass of whines, barks and growls continuing for almost 2 minutes.

"I'm not... sure." Quil said, his wrinkles more obvious as he frowned, he was just as confused as everyone else. Isabella and Eliza watched the gathering carefully for any sudden signs of aggression, their body language tense.

The group suddenly broke up, all but three of the wolves ran off into the night. The ones who had remembered to step out of their clothing returning shortly. Jacob returned a few moments later, wearing a new pair of jeans causing Eliza to murmur to a returning Tekali "I told you he'd need those." Which got a smirk out of her despite the serious expression on her face.

"What's going on?" Quil and Steven both asked Jacob the moment he stepped back into the firelight.

Jacob looked uncomfortable for a moment, glancing back at the grey wolf who remained where she was. "Tekali, could you go get Leah some clothing?" He asked his wife, who nodded and stepped back away from the campfire.

Jacob turned back to address the group. "Things just got a lot more complicated. We have two new issues. First, Leah ran into some trouble on the way home."

"What happened?" Quil asked, his face serious now, all trace of humor gone.

"She came across a scent she didn't recognize and the smell of blood. She stopped to investigate it, and ran right across a wolf who was chewing on the corpse of a hunter. The wolf saw her and tried to give chase, but Leah is still the fastest wolf we've ever seen. She decided to cover her trail so there was no way she could be followed here, crossing back and forth at some streams and rivers to be sure they couldn't track her scent."

Quil nodded as he looked at the grey wolf, still standing close by, staring at the vampires. "Good thinking. We need to know what we're dealing with here. This is the first time we've ever run into any of our kind before." He turned his head to look back at Jacob frowning curiously, "You said there were two issues?"

Jacob nodded his head slowly, "The second thing is that Leah imprinted."

Quil's frown was matched by every member of the council as they turned to look at the grey wolf, "She imprinted on the wolf that attacked the hunter?" Quil asked

Jacob shook his head slowly. "No, she didn't imprint on him."

That caused puzzled expressions on the faces of the council, Quil being the first one to speak up, his voice showing genuine pleasure "That's wonderful news then! She and Seth are by far the oldest members of the pack without an imprint! I'm afraid I don't see why that is a complication to all of this."

Jacob slowly shook his head, glancing back at the grey wolf once more. "No, you don't understand. She _just _imprinted." Then he turned to look at Eliza meaningfully.

There were several confused expressions around the council, Quil was the first to figure it out. He blinked, as the information led to it's inexorable conclusion. The distinguished and knowledgeable elder with a century of life experience to fall back on, could only think of one thing to say. "Holy shit…"

"You can say that again," Jake added, to no one in particular

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**Once again, MAJOR thanks go to DarkBella, who has spent pretty much the past 24 hours with me, listening to me babble and helping smooth some of the rough spots. She is WONDERFUL. (She seriously thinks I'm kidding when I say I'ma have to break out the thesaurus for superlatives to describe her.) **

**For those of you who are wondering, (and I've had at least 1 review and one private message) Alice and Bella will happen. I PROMISE. But it will probably happen alot slower than you expect. (It certainly did for me as the story developed in my head.) Alice's role will grow in the story (by leaps and bounds) but it will begin slowly. because Bella has SERIOUS issues. **

**Whether you like it or not, toss a review my way! I want to hear criticisms as much as i want to hear praise! **

**If you have a suggestion, I'm always willing to hear it!**

**(P.S. I love parentheses ^_^)**


	13. A Long Hard Road

**~Chapter 13~**

It took Isabella a moment to process what had happened, then she sprung to her feet "She what?!" Her head snapping back and forth from her daughter, who's expression was more puzzled than anything else, and the grey wolf who stood still as a statue. "She imprinted on my daughter?"

Jacob turned to look at Isabella with a wry smile. "Things are never simple when it comes to you are they?"

Colin spoke up "That's not possible… she's… a _SHE_! And not only that, _SHE_'s a damn vampire!" He said, horror in his voice.

Quil looked at him sharply. "That's not how it works. You can imprint on anyone anytime. We found out when Rita imprinted that gender didn't matter. Apparently species doesn't matter either."

Rita spoke up immediately. "You knew it was a shock when I imprinted, and I've never been happier. Old prejudices don't matter."

"Prejudices! It's not prejudice!" Colin stood up, his fury finally getting the better of him as he shouted. "She's a vampire! We should throw her into the fire right here!" He took a step towards Eliza, as if he felt, as a human, he was going to manage it.

Isabella prepared to stop him, but she didn't have a chance as Colin came face to face with a snarling grey wolf, who had taken one leap and interposed herself between him and the vampires. One snap of her jaws and he was scrambling backwards.

The wolf might have continued to stalk forward, but at that point a shrill ear splitting whistle pierced the air. It caused the wolves still shifted to whine, and even the humans covered their ears. All eyes turned to the source of the whistle to see a very irritated Eliza.

"You." Eliza pointed at Jacob "Sit down before you split a second pair of pants."

"You." Eliza pointed at Isabella, "Sit down Mother, We need to figure this all out. Arguing isn't getting us anywhere!"

"You." Eliza pointed at the grey wolf who's head was turned to look back at her. "I am quite capable of protecting myself. Go change into a human and put some clothes on."

"You!" Eliza pointed her finger at Colin "Sit your ass down and keep your idiotic ignorant opinions to yourself, or I won't be responsible for the wolf tearing off an arm or some other, more appropriate, appendage."

"You!" Eliza turned and pointed at Quil and then faltered a moment. "Well… nothing. You've been quite the gracious host. Thank you." Quil looked surprised and then grinned.

Eliza kept her glaring at them all until each one of her directives had been followed. Jacob and Isabella sat down, Isabella looking more amused than anything else at her daughter's tone, then Jacob. Colin had tried to sit down and missed the log he'd been sitting on. He fell on the ground, before scrambling awkwardly to sit on it properly. The grey wolf turned and slowly walked out of the camp fire into the darkness where Tekali had returned with clothing.

Once everyone had settled back down, Quil broke the ice by turning and grinning at Isabella. "You know, even if I was blind, I could see the family resemblance. She has your temper."

This caused Eliza to laugh as she sat back down, and Isabella protested. "I do not have a temper!" Laughter was an immediate response by both Jacob and Quil.

"Bella, when you were human, you broke your hand because you punched Jacob in the face, and you _knew _he was a werewolf." Quil laughed again and his deep rich laughter seemed to ease everyone's tension. Several members of the pack laughed as they returned to the firelight in shorts they'd retrieved after shifting.

Isabella sighed, looking slightly miffed, "Yeah well. He still deserved it."

"I have no doubt that my husband did several things to deserve it. Believe me, we've been married almost thirty years, and I still want to punch him in the face on a semi-regular basis." Tekali said as she returned.

Walking next to her wearing ill fitting clothes which obviously belonged to Tekali, came Leah. Leah looked the same as she had the last time Isabella had seen her nearly a century before. She stood about 5'10, with dark serious eyes, and extremely full lashes. Her dark hair was styled in a pixie cut that fell along her jaw line. As she walked into the fire light, she looked surprised and awed, staring at Eliza, though she sat down next to Tekali at her direction.

"Allow me to introduce, Leah Clearwater. " Tekali said gesturing to the dark haired woman next to her. "Leah, I'm sure you remember Isabella, and this is her daughter Elizabeth, though she prefers Eliza."

"Hello..it's.. ah nice to meet you?" Leah said, somewhat abashed, and then cringed, clearly at the sound of her own voice.

Isabella nodded by way of greeting, eyes flicking back and forth between Leah and her daughter.

"It's nice to meet you." Eliza spoke politely, though she seemed somewhat stunned by Leah's expression of absolute awe.

Quil coughed delicately which was as effective as banging a gavel in recapturing the group's attention. "Okay, we have several things to figure out. And some of us aren't getting any younger."

"Agreed." Colin said, his voice a more normal tone this time, eyes taking in the entire council. "We need to decide what to do about these new vampires in our area, the treaty doesn't cover them. And we need to figure out what to do about this… imprint." He said gesturing at Leah.

Leah started to growl at him but calmed after Tekali put a restraining hand on her arm.

Quil spoke up. "There is nothing to do about the imprint. That can't be controlled. You know our laws. Our most sacred and absolute law. No member of the pack can hurt another's imprint. The pact protects imprints just as much as we do members. As far as I'm concerned now we just need to figure out what to do about these other wolves." Quil looked around at the assembled council and pack members who were all nodding in agreement.

"We need to track this other pack down. If they're in league with vampires who are killing humans, or they're killing humans, then we have a major problem. " Quil said.

"I fail to see how other packs suddenly become our problem. They're not our pack and they sound like they're causing vampires problems, which is a good thing in my book." Colin sneered.

"Dude, you know you're kind of a douchebag right?" Eliza asked suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her, several council members grinning openly, and several members of the pack broke into loud guffaws.

Colin sputtered as Isabella put her face in her hands and groaned. "No more late night cable for you."

Eliza looked around, "What? Apparently there's not some kind of IQ test you need to take to get on the council. There's another wolf pack out there working with vampires who are killing people. And you're okay with it? That makes you worse than the monster you make us out to be." she said scathingly

"How dare y-" Colin began.

Eliza continued on, speaking over him. "I dare because it's true. You hate vampires because we feed on humans! How is that any worse than your own kind doing the same thing? Not to mention that if this continues… how long until it is brought to your doorstep? What then? Are you going to take the ostrich approach? Stick your head in the sand and pretend there's not a problem?"

Eliza turned to Tekali. "Seriously, would it be bad manners to punch a council member in the face if I promise not to knock it off his shoulders?" Once again several members of the pack could not help but laugh.

"Now you're worried about manners?" Isabella muttered shaking her head.

Jacob was grinning at Isabella, "Nope, her temper doesn't remind me of anyone at all." Isabella just rolled her eyes.

Quil interrupted, clearing of his throat at an exaggerated volume, and sounding suspiciously like he was attempting to cover up another laugh of his own. "I think the point is made. We need to figure out what the hell is going on. Perhaps we should go ourselves to investigate this situation in Seattle and see what we can find? Starting there might be a good idea."

Jacob nodded a little bit "I think a few of us going down there and investigating to see what we can come up with is the only thing to we can do. If there is something bigger afoot here, and that's what it sounds like is happening, then we need to know. One way or another this affects us, and puts our entire pack… our entire tribe at risk of exposure to outsiders."

Quil looked at the other members of the council, who all exchanged looks before he looked at Jacob. "If they're killing humans. You know what this means right?" He asked gravely.

Jacob bowed his head a moment and then slowly stood up, looking around at the group of both pack members and council members. "If they're like us, we have to find out who they are, where they come from and what their purpose is. If they're killing humans, then we will have no choice but to go to war with them, not just to protect the humans but to protect ourselves, our families and our way of life."

Seeing he had everyone's focus, he turned his attention to the pack members, taking a deep breath and gathering himself before continuing. "I came here tonight with the suspicion it might come to this. As soon as I heard another pack might be involved. That is why I wanted you all here tonight. Next to Paul, I'm the oldest werewolf here."

Eliza stirred slightly and her head moved slightly forward when she heard Jacob's last remark, but she said nothing, choosing not to interrupt the speech.

"I have led the pack for almost 80 years. Probably the longest of any Alpha in our history. I have never forced my will upon any of you. Nor will I now. Tonight I give you all a choice. You can choose to leave the pack and if there are more than one of you, form your own pack. Or if you think you can beat me, you can choose to challenge me for Alpha. If you succeed I will go my own way. If you fail, I will still allow you to leave. I am giving you all a way out." He looked around at the assembled pack, all of them staring at him with wide-eyed, even his wife was looking up at him with a stunned expression on her face.

"Make no mistake. If you choose not to leave, then you are choosing to follow me. If I commit us to a war, then you are agreeing to follow me. You know it's not something I want to do, or would do lightly. At that point I won't accept dissent. We have not had a true enemy in years, save for a random bloodsucker here or there. It's not going to be easy or fun. But it's what our ancestors first shifted for. It's who we are." Jacob finished, slowly looking around at the assembled pack, letting everyone process what he had said.

Jacob turned his head to look Paul in the eyes, "What about it Paul? You're the oldest member of the pack. Don't tell me you've never thought about being Alpha or being out on your own."

Paul blinked in surprise and quickly shook his head "Jake…man, hell no. You know me, I don't have the temperament to lead. We've been friends for too long. Besides… my wife, your sister, would fucking kill me."

"Damn straight," The other female member of the pack in attendance said, speaking up and intertwining her hand with Paul's.

Isabella frowned at her face, and realized she recognized her. "Rachel Black" she murmured to Eliza quietly. Though apparently not quietly enough because she turned to Isabella with a grin."Rachel Lahote now."

Jacob looked at Paul, and then at his sister, and then at the surrounding members of the pack. "I'm giving all of you 24 hours starting now. I don't want you to make a rushed decision and then regret it."

Tekali stood up kissing Jacob's cheek gently then murmured. "Where you go, we go together. Through this life and into the next."

Paul stepped forward, hand still holding Rachel's. "Won't need 24 hours to tell you that the two of us aren't going anywhere."

There was a quiet murmur among the pack members present and then one by one each stepped forward, into the light of the fire to state unequivocally. "We're with you."

Finally Leah stood up, looking Jacob in the face, her expression solemn "We haven't always agreed. But we're family. And you don't abandon family when times get tough." Then her expression turned exasperated and wry. "Not that I could even if I wanted to now." She said glancing over at Eliza uncertainly.

Quil looked up at Jacob and nodded with a soft sigh. "I truly hope that all this talk of war is for nothing. But… I fear deep in my soul. That a storm is coming and we must be ready."

Isabella was frowning pensively, looking around at the pack slowly, before she stood up and squared her shoulders, her voice formal. "I would like to speak."

The council and the pack turned to Isabella as one, their faces serious, as Quil nodded as if to say go ahead. "You have made your commitment here clear. You don't want these attacks to continue any more than I do, whether they be from vampires or wolves or anything else. We have the same goals. I would like to make a proposal."

Quil frowned thoughtfully, guessing her thoughts "You would like formalize a treaty?"

Isabella shook her head quickly, "No, not a treaty. A treaty merely says that both sides won't attack one another as long as certain behaviors are followed. I wish to offer an alliance."

"Mother!" Eliza shot up to her feet in protest. Isabella extended her hand effectively shushing her.

Quil shook his head, "No let her speak. I want to know why she protests." he said firmly to Isabella.

"I'd kind of like to know that myself." Jacob said quietly.

Eliza looked around at the surrounding pack and shook her head slowly. "Because you don't know what she is offering. What it entails to offer it without consulting the council." Eliza said meeting her mother's eyes.

"What does she mean? Do you not have the authority?" Quil eyes narrowed in a frown, looking at Isabella, his gaze demanded the truth.

Isabella frowned at her daughter for a moment before looking back at Quil, meeting his eyes, drawing herself up to her full height. She spoke formally and without emotion. "I _am _Isabella Volturi, acknowledged Princess of the Volturi. I have the authority to create an alliance without consultation. My daughter and I are charged with keeping control of this coast. This is why we approached the pack, and we seem to be in agreement about working together to solve this. You have already stated that a member of your pack imprinted on my daughter, thereby giving her your protection. You will defend her like she is a member of the pack. Obviously I have more ties here than I realized, and we would help defend you if there was need. An alliance formalizes the arrangement. I would be committing on behalf of the Volturi. That means that your concerns would be equal to ours. We would be committed to protecting your interests as much as our own. It would give you equal standing in any mutual concern, and allow my daughter and I freedom in working with you."

Eliza spoke up when her mother finished. "What she is not saying is what it means if she commits to an alliance on her own authority. My mother commits the entirety of the Volturi to the alliance. Should the council disapprove, then she is held responsible, though the alliance holds. If someone betrays the alliance. She can be found just as responsible, with a range of punishments up to, and including execution."

Quil looked up at Isabella slowly. "You would risk that to ally with us?"

Isabella looked down and met his eyes, her eyes softening for a moment. "The Quileutes have never been anything but honorable. I fail to see there being any true risk. The only way there would be a problem is if one of your pack attacked the Volturi unprovoked."

Quil looked thoughtful at that, and then frowned. "And what of the other matter?" He asked his hand gesturing at first Leah, who flinched slightly and then Eliza, who's brow furrowed.

Isabella shook her head, "If we are in an alliance it's a non-issue. You'd have equal consideration in all things, including customs. I know how imprinting works. I do not make decisions for my daughter, at least in regards to her personal life. I have no personal objection. However please know up front, if she does not even wish to speak to Leah, then I will allow no force in the world to compel her. It is her life. No one, and no alliance will decide that for her."

Colin spoke up, sputtering, seeing the serious and thoughtful expression on the faces of the other council members. "You cannot seriously be considering this. We cannot ally ourselves with them! They're leeches! They kill people!"

Eliza spoke up before anyone could reply. "We will respect your customs. Any members of the Volturi in the area will not feed on a human, except in the absolute gravest of circumstances." Isabella quirked an eyebrow at her daughter momentarily but said nothing**.**_**"What? You started this. I'm totally blaming you."**_ Eliza shot to her mother in their mental link.

Quil looked around at each of the council members, "I call for a vote on this proposed alliance." He said quietly, looking from council member to council member, and then to the pack leader. Each member slowly nodded their head in agreement. The lone dissenting vote belonged to Colin, who adamantly shook his head no.

Quil then reached out and braced his hand on the shoulder of Steven, who helped him stand up slowly. Isabella was reminded once again of his age and how frail he seemed. He reached his hand out and spoke formally. "I, Quil Ateara the Fifth, hereby commit the Quileute tribe as a whole to this alliance, unequivocally and unreservedly for as long as both sides are willing."

Isabella reached out and took his hand, surprised at the strength and firmness of his grip. "I, Isabella Volturi commit the Volturi coven to this alliance, unequivocally and unreservedly for as long as both sides are willing."

They shook on it and Quil grinned. "Vampires and werewolves, life is never boring with you around Bella."

"Er, you do know that you're not actually werewolves don't you?" Eliza piped up, her voice seemed both snarky and curious as she looked around.

Everyone looked at her as if she'd just announced plans to pursue a career in televangelism, though Paul spoke first. "Did you fall asleep there? Did you not see the whole 'transforming into wolves' bit?" He asked, prompting Bella to recall someone telling her sarcasm was the lowest form of humor once during her mortal life.

"No I got that, that makes you guys shape shifters. Werewolves, which we also call 'Children of the Moon' are different." She said as Isabella smirked, nodding a bit in agreement with her daughter.

"How so?" Jacob asked curiously, his interest piqued

"Well werewolves can change anytime, but they HAVE to change during the full moon. They're also allergic to silver. Your gift seems to be passed on genetically, theirs gets passed on by biting someone. They're supposed to be extinct. Not that it really matters here, but I thought you should know. If you say werewolf around other Volturi they start getting really nervous. Because one werewolf can turn into an absolute plague." Eliza shrugged a little bit, feeling her big finish was a bit lame.

Quil grinned at Jacob and murmured "Never a dull moment." which caused everyone to break out in laughter again.

"If there's no other business…" Quil looked around curiously

Isabella spoke up, "Well there is one other thing."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jacob asked rolling his eyes theatrically and laughing under his breath before his expression got serious again.

Isabella shook her head quickly. "Just a minor point, I want to make sure to make. Your alliance is with the Volturi. Not with the Cullens. We are two separate entities. Do not make the mistake of lumping us together. You aren't required to cooperate or protect them unless we are required to, and the same holds true in reverse. They are not required to help or protect you. Nor do I have the authority to compel them to do so."

She looked around, making sure everyone was being attentive to her words. "You can chose to tell them as little or as much as you wish. Several of you know, I have a history with them and they'll find out about my presence here soon enough, so do not feel the need to protect my identity. As long as you are under no obligation to say anything to them, and don't let them trick you into doing so. Also, be aware that one of them, Edward, can read your thoughts, at least the surface ones. If they request a meeting, which I have no doubt will come sooner rather than later, if only to tell you about the presence of others in the area, you can insist that Edward not be present. Carlisle will honor the request."

Isabella grinned and looked around, "If he shows up and you really want to annoy him until he leaves, sing the lyrics to the most annoying song you can think of in your head. He can't help but hear it and then they get stuck in his head." That caused everyone in the group to smile.

Quil nodded then looked glanced at everyone. "I declare this Council meeting concluded. And I must say it's been the most eventful council we've had in years." Once again everyone except Colin laughed. Several of the pack members approached to assist the council members who needed assistance leaving the clearing

Bella, despite feeling a sense of accomplishment, couldn't help but feel this was just the beginning of a long, hard road then she glanced over at Eliza and Leah. "A hard road indeed." She thought ruefully to herself.

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**Okay, a couple of things in these here author's notes. **

**1st) I'm well aware from reviews and private messages that Alice and Bella haven't even met again yet. ZOMG O_O I know. It will happen. I promise. But it will happen slowly and in it's own time. Their romance is assured. (I pretty much think they should be together cannon :P)**

**2nd) Bella is NOT the same sort of person she was. She's... gone through some changes. OBVIOUSLY. **

**3rd) The majority of people seem to like the idea of an Eliza and Leah paring. I'm sorry if it bothers some of you. I didn't actually originally intend it. But... it just fits. **

**4th) This chapter is extra long. but we didn't see any way to make it shorter.**

**Lastly. Please read and review. I want 3000 reviews. ^_^ which is an insanely high amount. But i gotta set my sights high. It encourages me to write more! Love it or hate it I want your feedback. And I'm happy to hear specifics on what you like or hate. **

**As always. I reply to everyone who gives me feedback if they have PM's enabled. **


	14. I Knew You

**~Chapter 14~**

The council meeting had broken up and everyone was beginning to scatter. Jacob, with Tekali at his side approached Isabella and asked quietly "Can we walk and talk for a little bit?"

"Of course." Isabella nodded stepping to follow them, gesturing for Eliza to follow.

Eliza stood and dusted off her pants, taking a few steps to follow her mother when she felt a grip on her wrist. Eliza turned and saw Leah holding her arm Leah's expression contained a wordless plea, yet still retained an aura of fierce pride. "Please?" Leah said very quietly.

Eliza hesitated a moment, but felt her Leah's need and reached a decision, glancing over at Bella, "Mother, you go on ahead. I'll catch up later."

Isabella looked back, hesitating just a moment herself before giving Eliza a significant look, then nodding subtly "Let me know if you need anything." She turned and caught up with Jacob, though she couldn't help but glance back and watch Leah gesture toward the forest. Eliza nodded in consent.

Jacob didn't say anything for several moments as the he, Tekali, and Bella of them walked through the clearing away towards the relative privacy of the woods. The three continued to walk silently. More deeply into the forest until they were well away from anyone else.

When they reached a silent mutual agreement about being far enough away, Jacob turned to look at her. "Bella, I… I just wanted to say. I'm sorry." Jacob said, looking uncharacteristically humble.

Isabella frowned, clearly caught off guard by Jacob's sudden apology. "For what?"

"For… not being there. For letting this happening to you. You were right with what you said earlier. It's my fault you're a vampire. I'm so sorry." Jacob answered, his emotions getting the best of him, as he appeared near tears .

Isabella sighed and shook her head slowly "Jacob, I admit I have a lot of anger about what happened, but I stopped blaming you a long time ago. I didn't mean what I said earlier today. I hadn't expected to see you. I doubt anything could have surprised me more and it… it.. really threw me off. So I just kind of responded with anger, you see….that sort of emotion…..that defense…has served me well for a long time. But you…you have nothing to apologize for."

"We let that bitch through and she got to you, and I promised to stop her." Jacob shook his head a little bit and his voice dropped. "I thought.. I thought she killed you, and it was entirely my fault ."

"Stop. Just stop." Isabella said, holding up her hand. "It's not your fault. I crossed her when the Cullens killed her mate to protect me. Then they abandoned me. You didn't. You tried to defend me. She managed to trick us all. Don't blame yourself. I don't blame you."

Tekali grinned and elbowed her husband. "See, I've told you that for years. She wouldn't blame you. Now you have proof."

Jacob actually blushed, surprising Isabella, and chuckled, rubbing his side playfully, before he frowned again. "So, would you mind filling us in a bit on what's happened since? I mean, you're here and you're a vampire. That much is obvious. But… you have a daughter, who you said isn't your daughter by birth but who looks a hell of a lot like you. I'm pretty sure you didn't have a twin sister… and she's a vampire too? How the hell did that happen? It's a lot of coincidences and I've been alive long enough I don't believe in coincidences?"

Isabella seemed to be on the edge of laughter yet she didn't seem happy, "That's a very, very long story."

Jacob shrugged and gestured to the silent forest around them. "We have a little bit of time I think. How about giving us the highlights?"

Isabella frowned a little bit and nodded slowly. "Okay, but I'm only going to give you the cliff notes version. Where should I start?"

"How about what happened with the red-headed leech and worked forward from there?" Jacob asked gently.

Isabella raised an eyebrow when she heard the word leech then nodded , inhaling deeply of the forest to center herself before she began her tale. "When Victoria played her trick, setting two newborns loose, you all went off to get them. I've since discovered it's a tactic vampires have used for almost two centuries. Turn some people and then set them free to create chaos. Its part of what we're dealing with right now in the cities. Usually the goal is territory or the elimination of a group. This was a bit different Victoria had a very specific goal; me. She waited until the precise moment you were gone. She came in, grabbed me, knocked me unconscious and dragged me away. When I came to, I didn't know where I was, it was just a cabin in the middle of nowhere."

"She had decided that death was too good for me. She bit me, and during the 3 or 4 days it takes to turn someone, she imprisoned me somewhere with nothing, and no hope of escape." Isabella looked at the ground as they walked, idly kicking a stick out of the way.

"When you first become a vampire, you're _thirsty_ for blood. I can't describe how it feels if you're not familiar with the sensation, but it's not a fun one. It's like walking through the desert, without water for a week, only a thousand times worse. And she left me trapped. I couldn't get out, all that existed was me and my hunger. I couldn't tell you how long that lasted. Years. My memory of that time is hazy. I went a little crazy." Isabella shrugged, obviously holding her emotions very firmly in check as she recounted her tale.

"I did however manage to escape. The first thing I did was feed, and feed and feed. I'm not sure there was an animal left within 5 miles. When I calmed down a little, I was still crazed, but at least I wasn't feral. I remembered vaguely from my time with the Cullens, Edward telling me about the Volturi, how they were as close to royalty as vampires had, and that they lived in Volterra, Italy. So I stowed away on a plane and made my way there. At least I'm pretty sure it was a plane, I was still a bit fuzzy. I didn't know what else to do. Even if I had known where to find them, the Cullens had rejected me. I was a vampire now so coming back here didn't seem like an option either." Isabella said a tad defensively, though she saw no recrimination on Jacob or Tekali's face.

"When I showed up, I know I looked quite the sight. In nothing more than rags, my hair a mess, I basically looked like a savage. But I was brought before the council, and Aro touched me and couldn't read me, then none of the other powers of the guard worked on me, he became intrigued. They cleaned me up, fed me, and clothed me. It felt so good to belong somewhere, so when the offer to join them came a few days into my stay I didn't hesitate." Isabella shook her head, smiling wryly.

"They made me feel welcome. I'm not sure if it was pity, though I doubt it, we Volturi are hardly renowned for pity or mercy, but after Aro heard my story, he "adopted" me, or at least the vampire equivalent. Then I began training as a guard, and I don't think anyone in their history had ever taken to the training like I did. I never, ever wanted to be helpless again."

"I learned quickly, it's not hard when you spend all your time training and don't need to sleep. 'Obsessed' is a word I heard thrown around more than once, but in less than a year after joining, I was assigned to become an enforcer. They'd send us out on little missions to make sure the vampire secret stayed kept, and things of that nature." Isabella smiled, almost wistfully, as she recalled the training.

Jacob and Tekali had been listening intently, absolutely caught up in the story, but at that point Jacob frowned. "Wait, I'm confused. Victoria changed you, turned you into… a vampire. Where does Eliza fit in the story? I didn't think vampires could have children."

Isabella shook her head and chuckled softly. "I'm getting to that. One of the missions they gave myself and Felix, another member of the guard, turned out to be a very significant one, with long reaching ramifications. It was less than three years after I arrived there. We had to go to Brazil. There had been reports of mysterious disappearances and deaths there for years. However they became more and more commonplace, and finally the Volturi had to take steps. It took us 5 days to track them to what I can only describe as worse than any horror movie."

"In the basement of an abandoned, filthy warehouse, a vampire ancient was performing horrible experiments. He… kidnapped and impregnated human women, and forced them to carry the half human, half vampire, child to term." Isabella couldn't keep a tone of horror at the memory out of her voice.

Both Jacob and Tekali reacted to that. Tekali gasped and put her hand to her mouth, while Jacob gritted his teeth and managed to mutter out "That's… fucking… monstrous." His veins stood out on his neck as he quivered with rage. For a just a moment both Isabella and Tekali thought he might spontaneously shift.

Isabella nodded. "Oh I know. And it got worse, after the hybrids were born he would perform experiments on them, injecting venom and other chemicals into their bodies and then siphoning it out again and again, seeing what reactions he could get. And he didn't do this for days or weeks, he did this for years. When Felix and I showed up, he had his creations, at least the ones he was done with, attack us. They were rabid by that point, Felix told me he could handle them and told me to catch the ancient before he got away."

Isabella shuddered at the memory as she recounted it, "I followed him into his laboratory, there were blood and dead bodies everywhere, it was like a slaughterhouse. There was only one of them alive, strapped down to a table of sorts.

She looked like she was about 16 years old, later we found out this meant that she could have been as young as 5, since the hybrids apparently age to maturity very quickly. I attacked the ancient but he was far older, more experienced and more powerful. Only me being so _angry _and having fed far more recently, gave me any advantage_._ After a brief but savage fight he fled, I was in no shape to catch him, he had hurt me pretty badly."

Isabella's voice dropped low as she continued. "I was low on blood and I was desperate. At that point I was only acting on my instincts. I staggered over to the girl on the table and I bit her... I wish I could say it was to end her suffering, but I wasn't thinking clearly enough for that. What I didn't expect was for her to bite me back! I bit her neck, and she sank her teeth into my neck almost at the same time, piercing the hard skin and injecting her venom into me, causing me to instinctively inject my venom into her. Normally when another vampire bites you, injecting his venom, it hurts like hell, and leaves a faint scar. This burned through my entire body, filling my veins, it was like being changed all over again."

"That's how Felix found us, locked on to each other's necks, I'm sure it was quite the picture. He later told me he tried to get us apart, and when he couldn't he carried us both out and burnt the place to the ground. Then he took us to a house we had to hide out. All I remember from that time is feeling her memories, absorbing them. I saw everything she'd been through. The utter, constant pain she grew up with. She knew nothing of life beyond the experiments performed upon her by ancient."

"Felix said it took about 3 hours for us to release each other." Isabella shook her head and took a deep steadying breath before continuing.

"Felix told me he wasn't sure what to do but it didn't really matter, he couldn't separate us any way. When we finally let go of each other, Felix said I snarled and lashed out at him any time he tried to get close to her. I don't remember any of that. I remember waking up, next to her, with Felix sitting in a chair across the room staring at the two of us." Isabella closed her eyes and shook her head. "I had no idea about the changes which had happened to the both of us during that time."

Jacob tilted his head, curious, frowning,. "What do you mean changes to both of you?"

Isabella frowned back at him, "With me they were subtle changes. My body filled out a bit, I became slightly more toned. Almost as if something was completing and optimizing my potential growth process. There a lot of other changes we didn't notice until much later.

"Waking up was probably the most surreal experience I've ever had. Here I was next to someone who looked just like me. I had no idea what was happening. It took me a minute to realize it was the girl from the lab. Her body had completely changed. You see us now? We look like we could be sisters, possibly even twins." Isabella stated flatly, Jacob and Tekali nodded in agreement before she continued.

"When I first saw her, she looked Brazilian, darker skin, dark hair, but it was as if like my venom and her physiology… changed her. It also created our bond. It worked out though, because when she came out of it an hour later she was completely freaked out and would only let me near her." Isabella smiled softly, a look that was surprising given her recent behavior but not entire out of place surprisingly when she remembered the incident.

"We took her back to Volterra, and I think a combination of Aro's curiosity and my protective feelings towards her, convinced Aro to allow her to live. And boy did she live. She started making up for lost time as fast as she could. I'm the only memory of anything like a mother she has. I've pretty much raised her and couldn't love her more if I had given birth to her myself. She… saved me from a pretty dark place in my mind. But when she started training, shortly after we got back, that's when we discovered that the two of us are different than other vampires." Isabella said

"How so?" Tekali asked, beating her husband to the punch.

"Well, like I said she seemed to change me, making my body the optimum it could be. We're both measurably and significantly faster, stronger and more dexterous. Our senses are heightened, though I don't think our sense of smell is quite at your level. Our bodies are more efficient, we need less blood and it lasts longer for us. We also have something much like your… pack mind. We can hear each other's thoughts, feelings, talk back and forth in our minds from any distance. We have… a few other tricks, but you get the idea." Isabella shrugged casually as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"And now you two work together as enforcers for the Volturi?" Jacob asked.

Isabella nodded. "We're a good team. We don't need to talk or see to come up with a plan, and when we fight, we know where and how the other is moving. People are starting to say the Volturi have two sets of witch twins. I believe my nickname has become "Assassin" and Eliza's is "Executioner". Or it might be the other way around. Eliza is a lot like me sometimes but she also has a sense of humor. You should have seen everyone's expression the first time she Caius "Uncle", I thought Caius was going to have an apoplectic fit. But anyway, these attacks started cropping up recently and we were sent to the west coast to deal with them, which pretty much brings you up to the present."

Jacob nodded slowly, "Thank you for sharing Bella. I.. can't tell you what it means to see you again. I missed you, even if you've changed. It's good to have you back. "Without warning he turned and wrapped his overly muscular arms her in a hug.

Isabella stiffened up completely, surprised. She did not like to be touched at all. Much less a hug like this. For several seconds she had to resist the urge to push him away or do something far worse. After a long agonizing moment she did her best to relax and return the hug, albeit tentatively. "Do you remember the question you asked me earlier today? " He asked, not loosening his grip of the hug yet. His question elicited a frown from Isabella.

She was puzzled and it showed when he released the hug and stepped back to look at her. "We are still friends. Always." Isabella smiled a genuine, if brief smile then replied "And now you won't always have to be worried about protecting me. We can both take care of ourselves these day."

Tekali spoke up quietly, catching Isabella's attention. "I do have a question. Are you really okay with the whole imprint thing? I mean I know it came as much a shock to us as it did to you, but still…"

Isabella frowned, glanced back at the forest as if she could see her daughter, then she sighed. "I don't know. But not for the obvious reasons."

Tekali frowned thoughtfully, "So the fact she's a female werewolf doesn't bother you?"

Isabella shook her head slowly. "No, her being female or a shape shifter has nothing to do with my concerns. More like… an imprint is really intense. I remember that, and while in some ways Eliza is nearly as old as I am, in other's she's just a child with no experience. I'm worried she'll be overwhelmed. But I did mean what I said. I won't try and dissuade her from a relationship, nor will I compel her to be in one. She'll make her own choices and I'll be her worried, protective mother."

Tekali nodded, looking satisfied. "Leah's a good person who has been alone a very long time. It's gotten to the point that she avoids people and spends most of her time off somewhere alone in wolf form. I know she didn't expect to imprint. I just… I hope it works out."

Jacob shrugged a bit and nodded, "I hope so too, and I've yet to see an imprint that hasn't worked out. But… that doesn't mean we can't worry. I think it's pretty obvious this is a unique case." He coughed slightly, shaking his head and changing the subject, looking at Isabella. "What time do you want to leave for Seattle tomorrow?" He asked

Isabella blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic "Leave for Seattle?" She asked, caught off guard.

Jacob nodded, "I thought me, Paul and one of the others, maybe Seth, could go down with you where you met these wolves. Nose around a little bit, see what we could come up with and I assumed you'd want to come with us."

Isabella made a face "Ew… horrible pun. But sure, let's say 7:00 am?"

Jacob grinned in a lopsided goofy way when she got the pun then nodded "That works, we'll have to drive down there. We can't exactly show up as giant wolves, or walk around without shirts and shoes and not attract attention. We were thinking of heading down during the morning and then getting the feel of the area, booking a motel room to stay to get a few hours of sleep, and stay the night in the area. That'll give us a chance to get a feel for the area and plenty of time to investigate. We'll take our bikes; do you want us to give you a lift?"

Isabella shook her head and grinned, "No, I've got my own ride. I'll meet you at the highway to Seattle at 7:00 am sharp."

Jacob nodded, turning to head back the way they'd came with Tekali "As long as you're not driving a truck older than you are this time."

Isabella snorted and waved as they separated, and then to wander in the direction of home. She walked slowly, idly wondering how Eliza was doing, but resisting the urge to check up on her through the mental link. She knew that she had to contact Aro and inform him of the alliance. A call she was more nervous about than she'd tried to let on.

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**DUN DUN DUN! **

**1) So Eliza's history comes out! O_O i hope you all aren't disappointed! This chapter and the next chapter happen at the same time. And covers her back story from different perspectives. I'm not keen on repeating the same story but I think it's important in this case. Since it's essential to both Jacob and Bella's interaction friendship wise, and to Leah and Eliza's interaction relationship wise. However I don't want to rip any readers off. So the next chapter will also be posted today. One chapter split into two essentially. **

**2) Once again. massive thanks go to DarkBella. She's been letting me pester her with random questions as i continue to write the story ahead, helping prod me to knew ideas. (including one massive inspiration :D) At the same time she's been fixing grammar and making sure the whole thing flows. At this point she's way more than a beta. This story is basically a collaboration and for all intents and purposes, she's a co-author. She's been wonderful.**

**3) In response to the two people who have private messaged me. I *am* a Red vs Blue fan. So occasionally i've thrown in a joke or reference to them.**

**4) For those who are reading and waiting for Bellice. Once again, I _promise _it will happen. Unfortunately you're going to have to wait awhile longer before they meet. There's alot of story I want to set up first. The Cullens don't even know Isabella is alive yet. But the cat will be out of the bag soon ^_^**

**Lastly, please read and review. it brings other people to look at my story. Which I like. But mostly it encourages me to write more. Encourages me that DarkBella and I aren't just writing something that amuses ourselves. **

**Favorite us, follow us, but please review. I *want* to hear what specifically you like and what you don't like.**


	15. Even Before We Met

**Chapter 15**

Eliza had been getting up to follow her mother and Jacob when she felt the grip on her arm. She turned to see Leah's fingers lightly encircling her wrist. Leah's expression seemed a contradiction, needy yet filled with indomitable pride. It was a combination that thoroughly confused Eliza.

She heard Leah say "please?" It was clearly a request and one that Leah seemed to yearn for. This struck Eliza as odd since Leah impressed her as the type who never asked anyone for anything. Her behest was clear to Eliza, and after a moment that for her, lasted a very long time indeed, Eliza made her decision.

She nodded slightly and then called out, "Mother, you go on ahead. I'll catch up later." Without waiting for her mother's reaction she let Leah guide her away from the fire and toward the forest in the opposite direction.

Eliza, while she'd gone her own way many times, had never faced a choice between following Isabella and someone else… she was totally unsure what to make of it.

Leah's grip on her arm loosened, as if she'd won something and she wasn't pulling Eliza along by any stretch, but Leah seemed reluctant to allow her fingers to completely let go of Eliza's wrist, she seemed to be savoring their skin touching. Eliza didn't pull her arm away, surprised at the warmth coming from Leah's hand. It was much warmer than a human's touch. They moved deeper into the forest, away from those who'd lingered, perhaps only in curiousity about Eliza and Leah. Eliza finally spoke, more to break the silence than anything. "So, I'm your imprint huh?" She immediately cringed at how daft she sounded though Leah didn't seem to notice. For an insane moment Eliza thought she could belch and Leah would praise it.

Leah nodded as if she felt guilty, though Eliza could not imagine why. "Yeah. You are…" She trailed off, unsure what to say.

"Does this conversation make the top five list of most awkward you've ever had?" Eliza asked with a grin. She was rewarded as Leah grinned and chuckled."Maybe I should tell you about when Mother and me…no that can wait."

"I have to admit this is not a conversation I ever expected to have." Leah shrugged.

Eliza frowned and then looked around at the forest; she made her way over in the direction of a exceptionally large fallen log then asked "What do you mean?"

Leah kept pace with Eliza and replied, "I sort of gave up on the idea of imprinting. I've been a pack member almost as long as Jacob has, and it never happened. I just thought it wasn't something that would happen to me. Since everyone only gets one imprint, I assumed I must have missed mine or something."

Eliza turned and hopped up so she was sitting on the fallen log making her temporarily taller than Leah, looking thoughtful. "So you had totally given up on it?"

Leah blushed and looked away, choosing to pace in front of the log for the moment, "Well, I thought from time to time about it. But I've been practicing for years to try and manage my anger enough not to shift. So that I could age normally. But it's hard, and I've never managed to go more than two weeks at a time. Too bad there aren't twelve step meetings to avoid shifting to a wolf I guess. I've pictured imprinting occasionally… but I never pictured the conversation going like this."

Eliza tilted her head, she was curious, "How did you picture the conversation going? That is…if you don't mind me asking."

Leah chuckled, "Something along the lines of 'Honey, don't freak out. I'm a lot older than I look, and I sort of turn into a wolf at will. There's a whole pack of us. When does it happen? Oh usually when I'm upset or if I encounter a vampire. Yes, those are real too. But I've sort of imprinted on you and you're my soul mate' Is kind of the conversation I expected to have. Most men or women would have left skid marks at the door before I finished."

Eliza burst out laughing and shook her head. "You know, if your imprint didn't know about wolves first, that's totally not the way it would have gone right?" Leah tilted her head to the side, inviting Eliza to continue.

"It probably would have gone something like 'Honey, don't freak out. I'm a lot older than I look and sort of turn into a wolf… I said don't freak out! No, put down the phone, there's no need to call for an ambulance I haven't gone crazy. No no, don't do that! Honey, put down the knife, it wouldn't hurt me much anyway. I'm not going to hurt you!'…. And it probably would have gone downhill from there." Eliza trailed off with an impish grin

Leah finally burst out laughing "Okay that's probably true. That's much more likely to be the way it would go. I'm not exactly the most eloquent person in the best of times. Often I'm reduced to barks, whines and growls"

"Though I guess that sort of conversation is better than. "Now you know the truth about what I am, and I have to convert you or kill you. If I don't the laws sentence me to death." Eliza gave her a very sour look and Leah seemed abashed.

Her laughter died as her voice became more serious. "But when the others imprinted on someone outside the pack, they seemed to take it okay. It all worked out. I started to believe I would never imprint, but even in my occasional dreams I never expected…"

"Didn't expect to imprint on a vampire? Or… you didn't expect to imprint on another female?" There was no accusation in Eliza's statement; rather her tone was polite and curious.

Leah frowned and continued to pace, but her eyes never left Eliza. "I am way more thrown by the vampire part. I've always had… an attraction for both guys and girls. I've been in brief relationships with both. I guess I sort of assumed in the unlikely event it ever did happen it would be a guy, because the only other person to ever imprint on their same gender was Rita." Leah searched Eliza's face, half fearfully. "What about you? How do you… I mean.. are you.." She trailed off uncertainly.

"You mean, am I gay?" Eliza asked bluntly, causing Leah to look down and nod in embarrassment. "I… don't know." Eliza confessed softly, her voice softening as she looked down at her feet.

Leah frowned at that and blurted out, "What do you mean?" she seemed puzzled rather than accusatory.

Eliza blushed and looked away. "I mean that... yes I'm physically attracted to women, but...I've never… been in a relationship of any sort before. Ever." Seeing Leah's frown, she felt a need to explain. "I have my Mother, and I have some… I hesitate to call them friends, but vampires in the Volturi guard that I'm friendly acquaintances with. However, that is the extent of my knowledge of relationships."

"What about before you were turned into a vampire?" Leah asked causing Eliza to flinch.

"I didn't have any relationships before I was a vampire." Eliza said, after seeing Eliza frown she half smiled then patted the log beside her. "You might as well sit down, this may take a few minutes of explaining, and when I'm done you'll know what kind of monster you've imprinted on."

Leah frowned, but didn't hesitate in turning and hopping easily up on the fallen log, sitting next to Eliza so that their shoulders were touching, and Leah's mostly bare leg was resting right against Eliza's black pants. Leah was privately pleased to note that at least Eliza didn't shy away from the contact.

Eliza wasn't paying much attention to the contact, though she did feel it. "I am probably the most unique vampire in the entire world. At least as far as anyone knows. I was the only vampire who was never human." Leah frowned, but didn't say anything, letting Eliza tell her story.

"My father was an ancient vampire, he considered himself a scientist, and at some point a few centuries ago he discovered he could impregnate human women. Something no one else in the vampire world seemed to know they could do. Mostly because, compared to us, humans are fragile, not to mention a food source. So to have that kind of control and still manage to… you know." Eliza shuddered at the thought and shook her head before continuing.

"Anyway, the babies conceived between a human and a vampire aren't human, and aren't vampire, but a hybrid. They grow very rapidly, coming full term in less than a month. While in the womb, they feed on the mother's blood until she's unable to give anything more, and then they… we… me… I suppose, claw a way out of the womb. You see our instincts and our mental development are all advanced enough that conscious thought begins in the womb." Eliza's voice was cold, even harsh as she outlined the clinical terms for Leah.

"Then the ancient vampire would take the hybrid offspring, strap them to a table, and begin performing experiments immediately, because the hybrid aged so much faster than a human. He didn't even bother to name them. He just gave them numbers. I was number 17. He tested anything and everything he could think of; testing the effects and changes, what effects different chemicals and different amounts of venom caused in me. He made sure to keep the amounts of venom small so the offspring didn't convert. He kept me alive by feeding me small but regular amounts of blood. He this repeated this dozens of times. Eventually, when the hybrid was too physically damaged or mutated by what he'd done to do anything more with, he discarded them and began the process again."

Eliza shivered slightly as she reviewed her memories. "I didn't understand all of that until I looked back on it in retrospect. The ancient had no interest in educating an experiment." Eliza said the final word with a look of self loathing Leah could not begin to fathom.

"That's where I was when Mother... Isabella found me. I was strapped to a table, and I'd been kept too weak to do anything while he experimented on me. She attacked him and they fought. He hadn't fed recently, excited about something in his experiments some major piece of the puzzle or another, and he didn't expect the attack; otherwise I'm not sure she would have had a chance. He was an ancient, older than Aro, who's one of the oldest of our kind. But they fought, he hurt her, but she managed to hurt him enough to make him flee. She turned and came over to me where I was shackled." Eliza said, her voice shaking a little bit as she visibly tried to get her emotions back under control.

"My memory of seeing her for the first time is very vivid. She was so beautiful, I would have thought she was an angel if I'd understood the concept then. I had literally spent my entire life strapped to that table while that monster hurt me over and over. He didn't seem to view me as anything other than a machine that he could poke and prod at." Eliza managed a very wan smile and chuckled. Leah was literally shaking, as if she might change to wolf any second her face twisted up in rage.

Eliza realized the state Leah was in and she murmured soothingly "Calm down Leah, this is all past," She waited and watched for almost a full minute before Leah seemed sufficiently soothed.

"I'm sorry. I just… that really upsets me." Leah said bleakly when she had calmed somewhat. She was lying, she really wasn't sorry about getting upset. It was a lie, but a sweet lie, a soothing one.

"This is where our memories diverge slightly. She remembers biting me first, swearing she intended to kill me. I clearly remember biting her first. The experiments the vampire had done on me gave me venom of my own. The point was though, we bit each other, and that caused us both to change. When we bit each other, we grew together in ways I'm not sure I can even begin to describe. She saw my life through her eyes, and I saw her life through mine. Now we're bonded, forever. We can communicate without words." Eliza said softly.

Leah chuckled dryly and murmured, "Pack mind, I'm very familiar with that concept."

Eliza nodded a little bit before continuing, "I'm told the physical changes were even more noticeable. I don't... ever recall being shown a reflective surface before my change, but Mother remembers me with darker hair and skin. The conversion apparently changed me so that I even look like her. Not that I mind, she was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. We're still not sure if it's something that happened because of her venom interacting in my hybrid body, or something more subconscious on my part. Though like I said, it's not like I mind."

"And that's why you call her 'Mother?'" Leah asked curiously, she tentatively slid her hand down and intertwined her fingers with Eliza's gloved ones gently, careful to pull back at the first hint of rejection, thankful when there were none.

"The first thing I remember after is waking up is Mother crouched over my body and snarling at Felix, telling him that if he came near me she'd rip him limb from limb. I remember passing out again. I remember her getting me blood. Enough that, for the first time in my life I wasn't just thirsty. It was just… instinct when I called her "Mother." But it was and is right. I remember her looking shocked and then I remember her hugging me. It was the first time anyone had shown me anything resembling compassion." Eliza unconsciously squeezed Leah's hand as she thought about it.

"We've been together ever since. She wouldn't let Felix hurt me, she wouldn't let Aro destroy me, though he may have been too curious to do so. She had me train as a member of the Volturi guard. I'd changed her as much physically as she did me, my changes were just more physically noticeable. We're not normal vampires. We're faster, stronger, we don't feed as much… and we have other abilities. But… we've been a team for years. At first Caius didn't much like the idea of the two of us, especially since none of their powers worked on us, and I can be a bit…creative in my approach from time to time. But even he can't complain with results, because we've been just too goddamned effective."

Eliza finally turned to look Leah in the eyes with a scowl, "Now you might understand, I'm a monster. My very first act before I was even born was to kill my own birth mother. And I've killed since then, vampires and humans alike. Vampires outside the Volturi call us the Assassin and Executioner. I'm the Executioner. How do you feel about your imprint now?"

Leah looked in her eyes, "It doesn't change how I feel at all. Even if I wasn't imprinted; the circumstances of your birth aren't your fault. And you don't sound like you're rabidly killing random people for fun or entertainment either."

Eliza sighed "Killing is not…exactly easy…..I pray that it never will be. I do it because sometimes I don't have another choice."

Eliza gathered herself, and then after several minutes of silence between the two, she frowned and looked at Leah, "What is it you want from me?" she asked very softly.

"I want to make you happy. However I can." Leah replied quietly, not looking away from the deep violet of Eliza's eyes.

Eliza frowned for a moment, her eyes searching Leah's face "And if I'm not ready for a romantic relationship?"

"I would never force or pressure you into anything." Leah said with absolute conviction.

"Then… it would be okay if we start by just trying to be friends? Then we can see what… if anything happens?" Eliza asked.

Leah nodded firmly. "I'd like that a lot, so long as you don't mind me making occasionally sappy remarks and being protective of you."

Eliza laughed and grinned. "So long as you don't mind me doing the same."

Leah grinned and shook her head and then looked nervous again. "But... would you mind me asking one question, as someone who imprinted on you?" Eliza frowned and shook her head slowly.

Leah looked abashed and murmured, "I know it's just ego and nervousness, but do you at least find me attractive?"

Eliza blinked as she looked at her and started to giggle a little bit, though before Leah could look hurt Eliza gave her a slight nudge with her shoulder. "You're beautiful, and don't you ever doubt it for a second." Eliza took in Leah's reaction with a bit of self satisfaction.. She seemed to practically glow as a result of the compliment.

"So, in the interest of being friends… let me ask you an all important question" Eliza said solemnly. She waited for Leah to nod before continuing, her expression utterly serious "What is your favorite color?"

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**Here it is, as promised. The other half of the chapter. I hope it was worth it.**

**I know you're probably getting tired of hearing it. But major props go to DarkBella who is my co-author on this. She edited a TON on this chapter to get it to say exactly what I envisioned. She's scary good at reading my mind. **

**DarkBella's notes: She wants everyone to know that she ALSO promises that Alice and Bella meet soon. She knows. She's had a vision. We will make it good to read. and she's putting the things she's writing on hold to make this the most bestest, most epicest story EVER. of all time. **

**I hope you're enjoying the story! Maybe another update tomorrow! **

**Please read and review! It encourages us to write and edit faster. I love to read what you like and don't like because it tells me if i'm getting character reactions the way I want **


	16. Can't Touch This!

**Chapter 16**

Several hours later Eliza returned home still smiling, and an extra bounce in her step. It was well past two in the morning when she entered and she heard the sound of television coming from the basement, so she headed down to the Batcave.

She was surprised to find Henry channel surfing through news reports and notifications on the different monitors, and her mother staring at a chess board. She made sure to make some noise as she came down the stairs so as not to frighten Henry. "I'm home!" She announced and frowned at Isabella. "What are you doing Mother?"

Isabella looked up from the chess board at her daughter. "Hey sweetheart, I'm currently getting my ass handed to me in chess for the 3rd game in a row. Henry keeps being tricky and sneaking up on me." Isabella said grumpily.

"I did not sneak up on you!" Henry protested from his seat, glancing back at the pair.

"You just took my queen!" Isabella protested.

"With a pawn," Henry replied dryly.

Eliza tried to contain her grin with a solemn nod. "You have to be careful of those pawns. They're like ninjas." Henry snorted in amusement.

Isabella rolled her eyes and turned back to the board, and after a moment's consideration moved her bishop, and announced "Check!" with enthusiasm.

Henry turned around in his chair and reached across the table and moved his rook, taking Isabella's bishop. "Checkmate." He stated. Isabella sighed with irritation and began to put the pieces back in their starting locations, grumbling the whole while.

Eliza chuckled and gave her Mother a serious look, "How did things go with Aro?" she asked.

Isabella raised her eyes from the board to return her daughter's look.. "It went... surprisingly smoothly." When Eliza raised her eyebrow in disbelief, Isabella continued. "No, I'm serious. I mean he obviously wasn't thrilled. I told him what I found in town, and how we contacted the Quileutes."

Eliza nodded, "How did he react to the alliance?" she asked, nervously.

"He wasn't ecstatic. But I reminded him that he gave us full Volturi authority. He asked if I was willing to bear the responsibility of the alliance. I told him I was. He said he was surprised but said to let him know if there were any issues, and the council would approve it."

Eliza chuckled, "I bet Caius just about shit a brick." she stated. Henry couldn't help it and burst out in laughter at that finally stifling his amusement with a cough.

Isabella shrugged, "Probably, you know how Caius is with anything regarding wolves."

Eliza nodded, "What... did Aro say about the imprint?" she fidgeted as if she were afraid she might not like the answer..

Henry looked back at Eliza curiously, "What's this?" he asked

Eliza quirked her eyebrow at her mother, "You didn't tell him?"

Isabella glanced at him before turning back to Eliza. "I didn't bring it up. It's personal and no one else's business but yours, unless you chose to make it their business."

Eliza frowned and looked at Henry, "While we were at the council one of the members of the pack showed up and imprinted on me."

Henry nodded slowly, "Isabella was explaining to me what an imprint was but she didn't say that it had happened to you."

"How did the pact react to the imprint? And the wolf? How did he react?" Henry asked curiously

"It was a female wolf." Eliza responded her voice holding a note of challenge.

"Oh, my apologies, how did she react to the imprint? And how did the pack react?" He repeated.

Eliza frowned at him, "The fact that it was a female doesn't bother you?"

Henry blinked at Eliza several times before breaking out in a deep full-bellied laugh. "Young lady, I exist in a world with the knowledge that supernatural beings like vampires and werewolves exist. Hell, I live in a house with two vampires. By comparison, a person's sexual orientation, or sexual proclivities in general, seem a rather silly concern."

Eliza grinned at Henry. "Well she and the pack were both surprised as hell, though more by the fact that one of them imprinted on a vampire than on a female. At least with a female there is precedent for same-gender imprinting. After they recovered, things went okay."

"After she called one of the council members a douche." Isabella interjected

"Well he was, not just about Leah, but about the possibility of other wolf packs too, I just called him on it." Eliza huffed defensively. "Anyway, after we talked it out, and Mother offered them an alliance, Leah and I talked for a little after the meeting."

"How did that go?" Isabella asked without trying to make it seem like she was prying too deeply for more information

Eliza grinned at her mother impishly for a few moments. "We talked for a while. I told her a bit more about me, my history and stuff." Eliza looked uncomfortable for a moment before continuing, "She told me about herself She's really cool. We're going to try being friends, hang out a bunch and kind of see what happens from there." She stopped and looked at her mother nervously for a few moments. "Is that okay?"

Isabella stood up and gave her daughter a firm hug. "Sweetheart, I'm going to support you no matter what you decide, if she's your mate then I will fight anyone who tries to separate her from you. If not, I won't let anyone force you together. No matter what."

Eliza grinned and hugging Mother back and said quietly, half to her mother and half to Henry, "She'll probably be here a lot, so if you could make sure we keep stocked in food and stuff so she doesn't have to run off every time she's hungry, I would appreciate it. Apparently wolves tend to have a hearty appetite."

Henry laughed, turning his attention back to the computer screens, "That'll make up for the food the two of you don't eat."

Isabella gave her daughter another firm squeeze before releasing the hug, "Just so you know, you'll be flying solo at school again tomorrow. I'm going to head back down to Seattle with Jacob and a few others to hunt around a little bit."

"Are you sure you're not going to need me?" Eliza asked frowning

"No, I'll have Jacob and Paul with me at least, probably one or two others." Isabella shook her head and then grinned at Eliza, "I'll be sure to tell them that you were concerned about me anyway. That should make for a fun start to the day."

It was about 6:30 in the morning when Isabella came down the stairs, wearing black jeans, boots, a plain dark maroon tee shirt, dark leather jacket, and a book bag slung over her back. Eliza eyed her mother as she came down the stairs and said, "More black?", she asked rhetorically and then she frowned "What's with the bag?"

"We're probably going to be there overnight and into tomorrow. If they're down there we want to blend in a bit more than just showing up in the middle of the day. We'll get a hotel room when we get there today."

"Bow chicka bow wow." Eliza deadpanned.

"No more internet for you either." Isabella said sarcastically.

"Are they going to come pick you up?" she asked more seriously as her mother walked into the kitchen.

"No, I'm going to drive myself out to the highway to meet them." Isabella said, walking through the kitchen and toward the side door into the garage.

"One day and you're already borrowing my present? How am I going to get to school?" Eliza protested as she followed her mother out the door.

Isabella laughed and shook her head, "No, I'm not going to touch your new present. I got that for you. But I had to get myself something too you know."

"Oooh! Let me guess! You got it in black?" Eliza asked and then stopped short when she stepped into the garage. Next to her purple Kawasaki bike sat another motorcycle that absolutely dwarfed hers. Clearly emblazoned with the Harley Davidson logo on the side, the bike was a very dark red. Where Eliza's bike was compact and sleek, and clearly built for speed, the other motorcycle was the opposite. It was big and wide and obviously built for power.

"Holy crap. It's huge." Eliza sputtered, causing Isabella to laugh. Isabella threw her leg over the seat and settled in the seat, taking a moment to get comfortable.

"I'll see you tomorrow probably, have fun at school and I promise I'll get in touch with you if I need help." Isabella said, cutting her daughter's comment off before she could say anything. Isabella took a moment to don her helmet and gloves, before waving then backing the motorcycle slowly out of the garage. She started it up it with a loud rumble, chugging to life. Isabella grinned and waved at her daughter once more before riding away.

Eliza left for school about an hour later, waving goodbye to Henry after reminding him to do some extra shopping. She decided to wear lighter colors, choosing faded blue jeans, a blue button up shirt, with a white blouse beneath. When she pulled into the parking lot she almost groaned. Standing right next to the area she'd parked her bike yesterday stood Edward Cullen, clearly waiting for her. She almost parked somewhere else before gritting her teeth a moment as she pulled into the same spot.

She remained straddling her bike, taking off her helmet first, and then her gloves; she looked directly at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you want?"

Edward smiled a smile that her clearly thought was dazzling or seductive, but to Eliza it just looked like he was grimacing. "Hi there, we didn't get the chance to be introduced yesterday. I'm Edward Cullen." He held out his hand in offer of a handshake.

Eliza crossed her arms with a bored expression, "I'm well aware of who you are, as you're no doubt aware after my conversation with Jasper yesterday. You didn't answer my question."

Edward's smile flattened slightly before he regained it, dropping his hand. "I was hoping to get to know you, that's all." he replied, sounding vaguely injured.

"You know my name, you know what I am. I'm not sure what else there is you need to know." Eliza replied, raising her eyebrow further.

"Well, I was hoping to find out where you're from, what your family is like, whether we could meet up and talk a little bit as a group. Or you and I could talk meet somewhere and talk privately if you prefer." He made the last suggestion with a gracious smile, as if he were granting some great favor.

Eliza didn't even to try and hide her scornful amusement, as she slid off of the motorcycle. "Translation, you thought that you might be able to charm me enough to tell you more than I told Jasper yesterday. You sir, are a tool. If you don't understand that perhaps you could avail yourself of the Google search engine… my god, you really are as arrogant as I'd heard."

Edward's smile dropped off into a glare. "The _humans _here all think that we're arrogant. We don't have a choice. You know how hard it is to resist the thirst sometimes, especially being around all these humans. Not to mention we have to make sure no one learns our secret. You should at least not be so stupidly stubborn and let me give you the lay of the land."

Eliza threw back her head and laughed, "I didn't hear that you were arrogant from the humans here. Well, okay that's not true, I did hear it from them, but they were only corroborating. That opinion is pretty much universal. I'm not going to tell you any more than I told Jasper yesterday. Less even, because you're an asshat. At least he was courteous." After saying that she picked up her gloves and helmet and turned to head into the school

"You have no idea what you're stepping into. We're not the only ones you have to be concerned with around here. There are things you need to know!" Edward stepped forward and snatched her arm in his hand, turning her back around to face him.

Just as quickly he found himself flipped in the air and his back slammed into the ground. Leaning down she hissed in right in his face. "Let go of me or I'll shove that hand so far up your rectum it will tickle your stomach. You ever touch me again without permission and I will abso-fucking-lutely make you regret it." Then she was walking away toward the school.

Edward was quickly on his feet and looking around, and then reacted in surprise when no one seemed to have seen what happened.

Eliza stalked into the school, trying her best to calm herself as she marched to her locker to deposit her things and then head off to her first period class The entire time she was still seething with anger.

She slid into the same desk in first period that she'd sat in the day before, continuing to grit her teeth.

"Are you okay?" It took Eliza a second to realize the question was addressed to her. She turned to snap sarcastically, then she recognized the shy girl she'd talked to yesterday for a few moments, staring at her in concern.

Eliza exhaled slowly and then nodded, "Yeah, just irritated for a moment." she managed to smile at the girl, "Hailey right?" She asked, trying to sound tentative. She remembered perfectly, but she was supposed to be slightly overwhelmed with the new school and people and all.

The girl was watching her curiously with a concerned look on her face "That's right, I won't pry but if you need to talk, I'll listen."

Eliza smiled and shook her head, "No, that's okay, thank you for the offer though." True to her word Hailey nodded and settled back in her seat and started reading a book, a different one than she'd had the day before Eliza noted. At that point Jennifer entered and seemed to zero in on Eliza. Eliza privately wondered if Jennifer had to breathe at all for as much as she seemed to talk non-stop.

Eliza's day got easier after that. Her morning classes were a breeze and she managed to be attentive. Even lunch wasn't all that bad. She sat at the same table again. She realized that the table was what one would term popular, filled with the jocks and the cheerleaders. Today the conversation revolved around her, forcing her to talk about herself.

Eliza gave bland details about traveling around a lot because her father moved around for business. She noticed the flirting from the guys had begun in earnest. Kevin was by far the most aggressive, asking her about what she liked to do in her spare time, and what sort of movies she liked to see. Eliza had quickly formed an opinion about him. He was conceited, liked to talk about himself and a bit of a bully. Half of his conversation was him openly putting down others around them, even his 'friends' ended up being mocked from time to time. Jennifer shot her more than one glare from across the table, clearly irritated that Kevin was openly flirting with her.

She kept her ears focused on the Cullen table, but while they all seemed to be looking at her, especially Edward who had the nerve to glare at her, they didn't seem interested in discussing her, at least with her in range.

After lunch things got interesting again. She showed up in chemistry, remembering she was assigned to sit next to a Cullen. She got there just before the bell, after being delayed by Jennifer for what seemed like an eternity, while she talked about nothing. She sat in the chair next to Jasper, and the teacher turned on the projector while his lecture began.

"He really irritated you this morning didn't he?" Jasper asked her out of the blue, his voice a whisper, far too low for the teacher to hear. It was not the question or tone Eliza had been expecting.

She turned her head and nodded. "How did you know?"

Jasper actually chuckled a little bit. "I saw you earlier today, and could... read your emotional aura for a minute before it closed off again. I saw that you were angry, and knew he had planned on talking to you before school. I put two and two together."

Eliza shook her head and muttered, "He's an asshole."

Jasper coughed slightly and murmured in amusement, "You're not the first person to say so."

Eliza shrugged her shoulders, "I'd be stunned if I was."

The rest of the class passed quietly, the professor gave them a few minutes to work on homework at the end of class. Eliza finished hers quickly, though Jasper had his done far before hers. She turned and regarded him with a curious expression. "You're not going to ask me any more questions?" she inquired.

Jasper looked puzzled, "You were rather direct in telling me that you were not going to give me the answers I asked for. I assumed asking a second time would irritate you."

Eliza frowned and then nodded, smiling in a grudging way. "Thank you for respecting my wishes."

He inclined his head and then murmured, "I should tell you though, you also forfeit the right to complain when we find out what's going on through other means. You aren't giving us much alternative. We do have to be aware of who's in the neighborhood. It's generally common courtesy to do so in our particular community."

Eliza frowned , turning it over in her head in consideration. "Normally I would agree with you, but in this case, let's just say there are special circumstances."

He inclined his head slightly in curiosity but didn't more, knowing that she wasn't likely to offer anything further.

Eliza's day finished quickly. Gym, which she decided was the silliest class ever conceived, went quickly as they played kickball. She changed quickly and the teacher split them randomly into teams. She spent her time on defense in one corner away from most of the action. She found herself standing hear Hailey, who also seemed to have the same idea. Eliza spent most of her time chatting her up, mostly exchanging basics.

Eliza's attention was drawn away when it was Kevin's turn to kick and he called out her name, obviously determined to show off. When he was rolled the ball, he kicked it as hard as he could. The ball sailed up into the rafters of the gym… and got stuck; for which he was ruled out by the gym teacher, much to several people's amusement.

While the teacher got a replacement ball, the teams switched sides. Kevin insisted on pitching, eager to avenge his embarrassment, he began rolling the ball as hard as he could to the kickers; forcing a series of off balanced and weak kicks. When Eliza's turn came up she made sure to kick it lightly past the person playing third base, her success at making it to base causing Kevin to scowl.

The person following her to kick was Hailey unfortunately for her, and Kevin took out his frustration. Throwing the ball hard enough that it skidded across the ground rather than rolled, Hailey attempted to kick it but the force of the ball and her momentum from her kick caused the ball to bounce right to Kevin and her to stumble and fall flat on her face. Kevin showed no mercy in tossing the ball and hitting her in the side just as she began to stand up, knocking her down again.

The teacher's whistle stopped play at that point, calling the game to a halt; telling everyone time was up and to go get changed. Eliza went over and gave Hailey a hand up, and got a small "thanks" from her before Hailey turned and headed into the locker room to change.

Eliza made quick work of changing back into her clothes. She caught Jennifer trying to catch her eye, and pretended to miss the non-verbal communication. "Might as well call it recess," She muttered as she left. She didn't bother hanging around to chat with anyone before peeling out of the parking lot on her motorcycle.

This time Eliza knew she was being followed almost as soon as she pulled out of the parking lot. She waited until she was out of sight of the school, and she caught a glance of her pursuer as he ran into the trees, following her. "Of course," she thought to herself, "It had to be Edward." Eliza knew it was probably dramatic, but she was still irritated by his actions earlier. She waited until she was positive he had an unobstructed line of sight of her and cloaked herself, completely obscuring her from sight, sound and smell.

She drove a bit further up the road and then watched in amusement as he emerged from the woods looking around wildly, trying to figure out just where she had gone. That amused Eliza quite a bit, so much so she laughed all the way home.

She hadn't been home 20 minutes when there was a knock on the door. Opening the door she came face to face with Leah who stood there looking very self conscious.

"Hey," Leah said awkwardly.

Eliza frowned at Leah's expression, while she opened the door, "Hey, what's the matter?"

Leah came inside, though she was clearly still uncomfortable. "Oh..I.. ah.. wasn't sure how soon you'd want to see me. I don't want to.. you know... Smother you." Leah said, looking for all the world as if she were giving her own shoes a thorough inspection.

Eliza frowned then gave Leah a quick but firm hug. "You are my first real friend, and I'm not all that experienced at it yet. I'll make you a deal. You visit me and hang out with me as much as you want, and I promise that if you start to smother me, I'll tell you, if you promise to do the same for me."

Leah laughed, relaxing and nodding as she looked around. "I think I can manage that."

"I thought I heard voices out here." Henry said as he came down the stairs, still wearing a robe, pajama bottoms and a tee shirt, obviously he'd just woke up. "Oh, hello there!" He said, seeing Eliza and a girl he didn't recognize.

Leah looked at Eliza in surprise, as she spoke up "Hey Henry, I'm sorry we didn't mean to wake you. This is my friend Leah Clearwater."

He smiled and came forward and offered his hand, "Ah you must be one of the Quileute pack I've been hearing about. It's a pleasure to meet you I'm Henry Jansen!" He said, looking genuinely pleased to meet her.

Leah overcame her initial surprise and took his hand then smiled back "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry you caught me by surprise."

He shook his head as he made his way into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of orange juice. "It's no problem. Though if you have some time sometime... I'd like to pick your brain about you and your pack. Your history and such... I'm.. kind of a history nut."

"Emphasis on nut," Eliza stage whispered with a grin.

"You're human?" Leah blurted out curiously.

Henry laughed and grinned, "That depends on who's asking. I've met more than one person who believed I was more stubborn ass than human." Both women to laughed.

"So tell me something Leah... this treaty you have with the Cullens..." Eliza expression looked as if sugar would melt in her mouth, "Now that we're allies...would I endanger it if I were to seriously maim Edward Cullen? Even just a little bit?"

Leah's expression was confused for a moment, "I... uh... don't know. How do you seriously maim someone... a little bit?"

Eliza's expression was earnest and sincere. "I'm not sure. But I'm sure I'd have fun figuring it out!"

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**Author's notes!**

**1st) For those of you wondering if the Cullens had dropped off the face of the earth. They're back! ^.^;; Edward might take a teensy bit of abuse. **

**2nd) Alice is back in the next chapter, and shall start being more and more intertwined in the story. But... Bella will probably not see Alice next chapter. But it's coming. I promise. (I know I'm turning into a broken record) **

**3rd) Once more DarkBella has done an excellent job editing. Seriously she's edited sooooo much this weekend X_X and We're... only about 45% through the story that's already typed. She's awesome. 3**

**4th) I have no idea how long this will be in the end. So there will probably be a long haul. I am just as anxious for Bellice as anyone else. But I like detail and story. I won't hurry things. **

**Lastly. Please read and review! I like detailed reviews telling me what you like and don't like! The more you review the more it encourages me to write.**


	17. Hidden Heart, Unseen Hurt

**Chapter 17**

-The Cullens-

Carlisle rejoined his family with the exception of Esme who was doing some shopping. He had an odd expression on his face, as a result of this everyone looked at him curiously

He cleared his throat before beginning, "In light of us being unable to find anything more about these vampires. I called the Quileutes to set up a meeting. I want to make it clear to them there are other vampires in the area that have nothing to do with us. I just spoke with the Quileute chief. He said he would meet with me at the boundary line tonight at six pm."

"What's wrong with that?" Emmett said, "I mean, sure we'll all need an extra shower tonight but they have to respect us for keeping them in the loop right?"

"Nothing is wrong with that." Carlisle replied, shaking his head.

Edward's head shot up and he hissed suddenly, reading Carlisle's thoughts. "They can't be serious?"

"Can't be serious about what?" Emmett asked, standing up abruptly, anger and tension almost palpably oozed from Edward and it put everyone in the room on edge.

"They made it clear I was welcome to bring anyone I wanted as long as Edward, and they mentioned him by name, came nowhere close to the meeting." Carlisle stated unhappily.

Rosalie frowned, "How would they know about his abilities? We never told them in the past did we?"

"No we didn't, but I don't see much choice, I have to go this meeting. It's just rather curious news." Carlisle stated. "In any case I'll be rather interested to hear their reasons for this decision."

Edward didn't wait to hear more, storming out of the house, slamming the door behind him as he went, splintering part of the wood.

Adara sighed, watching him leave, "I'll call Esme and have her pick up more paint while she's out, and make sure she's back in time for the meeting."

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At 6:00 pm sharp, all the Cullens except Edward arrived at the boundary line.

A shirtless Quileute stood waiting for them with his arms crossed and frowned in concentration. He was silent as they approached.

Carlisle stepped forward, "Hello, I'm C-" only to be stopped by the man's upraised hand who uttered a terse "Wait."

A few moments later the forest was filled by two howls seemingly originating from either side of the man and two wolves loped into view then settled on their haunches.

The Quileute seemed to relax his concentration slightly and smiled pleasantly. "Hello, I'm sorry, I was merely being sure that you honored our request not to bring the lee-vampire called Edward. We do not appreciate the privacy of our thoughts being invaded. I'm Embry. What is it you needed to discuss?"

The Cullens gave each other surprised looks, and while it was far from a welcoming greeting, it was the most courteous hello they had ever received from the Quileutes.

Carlisle looked around and nodded after taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "Yes, I wanted to bring something to your attention. There is a new vampire coven in the area. We do not know the number as we've only seen one of them. We wanted to make sure that you knew and should something untoward happen we would hope our guilt would not be automatically assumed."

Embry nodded after a moment. "That is interesting. Thank you for the information."

"But it's information you already had." Jasper spoke up suddenly looking at Embry, not with any doubt but seeking confirmation.

Embry frowned suddenly and glared at Carlisle, accusation clear in his tone. "We told you to leave your mind-reader at home!"

Jasper held up his hands, willing a wave of calm across the group before things could get out of hand. "I am not Edward. I cannot read your mind, I can merely read emotion, and I detected absolutely no surprise or anger from you when Carlisle told you of the other group of vampires."

Embry scowled at Jasper, "What am I feeling right now?"

Jasper shrugged a little bit, "Irritation at me, but you hardly need to be able to sense emotions to tell that."

Carlisle spoke up again, "So I take it, based on your reactions, you've had dealings with the other vampires already?" he asked with genuine curiosity. He was also hoping to bring the meeting back to main point.

Embry continued to glare at Jasper when he snapped at Carlisle, "Our 'dealings' with the Volturi are just that. Ours."

The Cullen clan all gasped in shock when the Volturi were mentioned. "What dealings did you have with the Volturi?" Esme asked, for once her husband's calm composure was completely, if momentarily cracked, so she spoke up, keeping a level head.

Embry frowned at the Cullen's shocked reactions. He looked puzzled for a moment. "It seems like both our families can benefit from some information. Tell us some of what you know of the Volturi and I will share a bit of what we know."

Carlisle frowned, "The Volturi are... the most powerful vampire coven in the world. They are... sort of what you might call royalty. They enforce the rules, making sure that our existence stays a secret. They are an immensely strong group with many gifted members, and can be ruthless when they're crossed. I must tell you, if you have hurt or killed one of their members then you're all in great danger."

Embry frowned thoughtfully nodding slowly after Carlisle finished speaking. "That's good to know. Well, you kept your part of the bargain, so I shall tell you this. We have not harmed any of them. We have formed an official alliance with them."

Carlisle blinked, "An... official alliance? Are you sure? I mean... I'm not doubting you're telling us the truth, but wondering if you have possibly been deceived. The Volturi almost never do that, ever. I can only think of two circumstances in 400 years where it's happened. And only the council's family has the power to make an alliance."

"The question of authority was asked and addressed. The one who offered the alliance is a Princess of the Volturi." Embry replied.

Carlisle frowned "I... see. Would you object to me looking into this? I am on friendly terms with the members of the Volturi council. Perhaps I could inform you if I find that you are being misled?"

Embry frowned slightly and there were growls from either side of him before he looked up. "I do not believe we are being deceived. But if you find out otherwise, then we will be happy to share all we know with you." Carlisle nodded in acknowledgement.

Embry turned and walked back into the forest while the two wolves stared balefully at the group of vampires before turning and following Embry into the woods.

Carlisle didn't speak simply gesturing for his family to head home. They all turned and ran through the trees at full speed. A chaotic scene ensued once they were home. Edward had returned before the meeting concluded, and he was bombarded with mental images of the meeting

"The Volturi made an alliance with them?"

"Must be someone posing as Volturi"

"Who would dare?"

"That's a death sentence!"

"I think I have a phone call to make." Carlisle said dryly, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. He turned to go to his study when Alice gasped in shock, everyone turned to her, she sat still as a statue, a blank look on her face, one that remained there for a full 10 seconds.

She came out of the trance looking absolutely stunned. "They're not lying." she said.

Rosalie frowned at Alice, "I thought we found out you couldn't see the wolves, how do you know?"

Alice shook her head, "No, I mean they were really offered an alliance. When Carlisle calls Aro, Aro's going to confirm it."

Carlisle frowned, "What else did you see?"

"You were going to ask him who it was that offered the truce and who is in the area." Alice said, "and Aro was going to express disappointment over his... daughter's lack of manners, and say that he'd speak to her concerning proper courtesy."

Carlisle's brow furrowed. "Aro... doesn't have a daughter, at least none that he's ever…ahem…mentioned to anyone."

Edward nodded in agreement "When we visited there about 20 years after Carlisle converted me, I know he didn't have a daughter. Not once did he think about it."

Alice shrugged and frowned, "He was going to mention it, so I don't think he was making it up."

Edward scowled, "It must be Eliza. Maybe he converted her or something and considers her his daughter?"

Carlisle frowned and nodded slowly, "That would make sense I think."

Jasper spoke up quietly. "That would also explain how she knows so much about us. That's information Aro would certainly have."

"I think we should confront our little "Volturi princess" with this and get the full story. These games are getting irritating." Edward practically snarled.

Jasper nodded in agreement, "I think we should talk to her about it, but someone else. Not you."

Edward scowled at Jasper, "Why not me? I'm tired of her tying us in knots trying to figure her out."

"Because whatever you said to her today pissed her off big time. You'd be lucky to get the time of day from her if you talked to her." Jasper said.

Esme frowned at Edward, "What did you say to her today? she asked suspiciously.

Edward looked a little uncomfortable, looking down. "I tried to get her to talk to me, and I told her there was more going on in this area than she knew, and that there were more supernatural inhabitants in the area than she knew. She did not react well."

"Would it be so bad to assume, whomever they are, that they bear us no ill intent unless it's shown to be otherwise? To leave them alone?" Alice said softly. When no one acted as if she'd spoken, she knew her suggestion was being ignored, just as she had been all those years ago with Bella.

"Perhaps if she's not comfortable sharing with you or Jasper, a different approach is needed." Carlisle suggested tactfully.

"Who did you have in mind Carlisle?" Rosalie asked

"I was thinking perhaps Alice or Adara, might be better received, or at the very least differently?" Carlisle opinioned

Adara glanced at Jasper and then at Carlisle, "To be honest, I would prefer Alice do it. She might equate me with Jasper and I also might lose my temper… that wouldn't be a good thing."

Alice glanced around at her family members who seemed to be in agreement then shrugged. "I can give it a shot and we'll see what happens." She glanced at Jasper who nodded sympathetically, understanding her emotions.

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Eliza was in a fairly good mood on the way to her school the next morning. She and Leah had hung out most of the night. They had enjoyed getting to know one another. The two of them had stayed in and found themselves playing a long running game of monopoly with Henry, a game Leah had won. Then they decided to watch a movie. Eliza picked a comedy, and after that they'd just enjoyed one another's company. Leah ended up falling asleep on the couch, and had left that morning promising to see her after school.

Eliza checked in with her mother enough to know they had picked up a few scattered old scents, but they had also run into a roadblock which Isabella hadn't explained further. They'd also spent several hours on a wasted lead, but they were likely to trace the scents into the sewers if they were left with no alternatives. Eliza reminded her mother of her promise to get in touch if needed.

Eliza pulled into the parking lot at her school a little early and scowled when she noticed a girl's slender shape, with dark hair in spikes, styled short, waiting in the exact same spot Edward had occupied the day before. She pulled her motorcycle up and parked it, taking off her helmet, sighing visibly. "Do you guys draw straws to see whose turn it is to talk to me or do you just hope that one of you will get lucky?"

Alice frowned, appeared to think the matter over. "It was kind of voted my turn. Jasper hasn't found out much, and Edward apparently said something to piss you off, they thought I might give it a shot."

"He said something? No, well yes; he was just an ass in general. But when he grabbed me he crossed the line. And I further did not appreciate him trying to follow me home." Eliza shot at her as she swung one leg over her motorcycle then leaned against it.

Alice frowned, "He didn't mention that part. I apologize." Her eyes never left Eliza's face. Eliza didn't have Jasper's abilities, but even she was able to read the hurt in those eyes.

"It's not you who should be apologizing." Eliza shrugged her shoulders, struck by just how terribly sad Alice felt. Though aside from the hurt in her eyes, it was hard to say why, the feeling was just…pervasive.

"I know, but I'm apologizing on behalf of my family. I hope you won't judge us all by his actions." Alice said softly with a wan smile. Her eyes didn't leave Eliza's face, as if she were trying to figure out some puzzle.

Eliza frowned when she realized she seemed to being analyzed, it irritated her, a bit like the feeling of a rock in one's shoe and she said "Believe me, I don't judge you all for his actions. I judge you all for your own." more harshly than she'd intended as she regained control of her anger.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, her brow furrowed in confusion, as she stepped a bit closer "Judge us for what?"

Eliza shook her head, "Nothing."

Alice frowned, watching her speculatively, but she didn't inquire deeper when it was obvious she wasn't going to get any more information. "We have found out a bit more about you, through other means."

Eliza raised an eyebrow, surprised but thankful that Alice hadn't pressed the issue when her anger about her mother's treatment had gotten the better of her. "Oh? What have you discovered?"

Alice shrugged lithely, "We found out that you're a member of the Volturi, and that you have formed an alliance with the Quileutes."

Eliza raised her eyebrow further; surprised she'd discovered that much. "I will grant that you're right on both counts." She had expected to see triumph in the girls' eyes, but she was disappointed when she only frowned and nodded, her eyes never losing that sad, almost desolate, look.

"Are you Aro's daughter?" She asked suddenly.

Eliza blinked a moment and then she grinned, "No, but you're getting closer!" she said, waggling her finger

"Would you answer the other questions we have, if I asked?" Alice asked directly

Eliza shook her head a little bit. "No, like I told Jasper, they aren't my questions to answer."

Alice nodded, though she still didn't look away from Eliza's face.

"I know it's not fair; but do you mind if I ask you a question?" Eliza asked meeting her gaze intently.

Alice blinked, caught off guard then made a seemingly casual hand gesture. "Go ahead."

Eliza locked eyes with her and murmured quietly. "Why are you so sad, Alice Cullen?"

Whatever Alice had been expecting, _that_ wasn't it and she seemed to struggle to frame her answer. "I'm n... what do y... why do you ask?"

"I've seen the look in your eyes. You might manage to hide it from your family. But you can't hide it from someone who knows what they're looking for, someone who's seen it before." Eliza said, looking straight into Alice's eyes.

Alice blinked and for one moment she seemed to drop her guard and all the defenses she usually maintained. Eliza could see the utter hopelessness, the despair and self loathing written plainly upon her face, "You remind me a lot of someone… A long time ago, I made a horrific mistake, did something I never should have agreed to do, sold what was left of my soul really and now I have to live with that forever."

Eliza blinked, not expecting such a heartfelt answer, perhaps not expecting an answer at all, "You lost someone you loved." She murmured softly

Alice shook her head slowly, and if it were possible the look on her face grew even more desolate. "No. It's worse than that… because I did this to myself. I abandoned her." Alice spun on her heels and headed for the school, gathering herself as she did, leaving a stunned Eliza standing there, her mouth open in shock.

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It took Eliza quite awhile to regain her equilibrium after that, she was distracted through her first classes. When Hailey greeted her in her first period class, she barely acknowledged her, save for a weak smile.

Eliza was no fool. It was obvious to her that Alice had been talking about her mother. Eliza had seen it in her mother's mind. She'd lived with her mother's anger and resentment towards the Cullens for years. But the idea that one of them may have been suffering because of it hadn't occurred to Eliza.

It didn't all add up in Eliza's head. The vision of Edward telling her mother she wasn't good enough, it was a memory seared into her mother's mind with a clarity that outstripped any other. If Alice was so hurt by what happened, why did she let it happen? It was something that didn't add up.

One thing Eliza had no doubts about was Alice's sincerity. Rarely had she heard the sort of pain Alice expressed in that moment of vulnerability. Eliza knew that Alice was in pain, but it was a different sort of pain than her mother's. Isabella had the pain of being rejected by the person she loved and by the family she may have loved more. She had the pain of what came after. Alice had a level of self-loathing that Eliza had never thought possible. Beyond that, to Eliza it felt like there was nothing else behind the self-loathing. Alice was just... dead inside.

Eliza was surprised to find herself torn. When Eliza found out that the Cullens were back in Forks as well, a part of her had delighted in the idea of twisting them; getting some small measure of revenge for the hurt they'd caused the only person Eliza ever loved.

Eliza had enjoyed causing them confusion and uncertainty; reminding them what it was like to be vulnerable. Eliza knew her mother was aware of her intentional interactions. With the link the two shared it was pretty much impossible to keep secrets or hide things for long. While her mother didn't necessarily approve of Eliza's actions, Eliza also knew that she didn't entirely disapprove of them

But all of the biting comments and snarkiness had abandoned Eliza in the face of Alice's pain. Despite her intentions otherwise, Eliza felt sympathy for the girl. That's what made Eliza feel torn. These were the people who hurt her mother. She hated them. There were only two people that Isabella hated more than the Cullens. Yet here Eliza was, feeling sympathy, perhaps even pity, for one of them.

These swirling, confusing emotions kept her off balance for part of the morning, but she focused on not dwelling on her immediate thoughts. Eliza started to center herself again and her focus improved as the morning progressed.

When lunch time arrived Eliza sat at her normal table. Everyone was discussing some big baseball game against a rival school that weekend. She tuned it out like normal, more and more the people at this table annoyed her. They weren't nice, and seemed to spend most of their time mocking and putting down other people.

Kevin was becoming more direct in his flirting, and he even looked over at Eliza with a confident grin saying, "If we didn't have that game against those losers from North Seattle Friday, I'd take you to the movies Friday night." Eliza rolled her eyes at his woefully misplaced cockiness, a reaction most people assumed was just her teasing. Jennifer in particular had stopped bothering to hide her scowls of displeasure when Kevin openly flirted with her.

Eliza glanced over several times at the Cullen table, her eyes searching out Alice's face. She found the girl's mask back in place, and she was either staring out the window or feigning amusement at something Emmett was telling Jasper. Eliza wondered how her entire family could be so blithely, utterly blind as to not see it. But Eliza realized that if she hadn't seen it before, hadn't been used to seeing it, she might have missed it too.

Those thoughts bothered her as she left the cafeteria and went to chemistry, ducking away from Jennifer and her acolytes before they could pin her down in a conversation. Jasper sat down in chemistry and looked at her oddly, as the teacher began to drone on.

He greeted her with a polite nod, "How are you today?"

She smiled and returned the nod, "I'm doing fine, how are you?

Jasper frowned thoughtfully, "Fair, I saw that you talked to Alice this morning." He said though his tone made it more of a question than a statement.

Eliza nodded again and after a few minutes of silence she couldn't help asking, "Is she okay?"

Jasper started to respond and then hesitated for several moments as he realized that the question was being asked on a lot deeper level than just her normal welfare. Finally he managed to come up with a response, "She's... managing. This is about the best I can say for her on any given day. Your conversation brought up some bad memories for her. Memories she works to hide at all times." He finally said.

The silence lingered between them for almost ten minutes.

"She's hurting pretty deeply." Eliza said suddenly, despite herself, her compassion overcoming her desire for revenge.

Jasper nodded almost imperceptibly. "I know. I help her as best I can. One thing about... being one of us. For good, or for ill, memories don't fade with time."

Eliza nodded a little bit, "Yes, and it seems fo-"

_**"I need your power NOW!" **_Isabella's voice shouted in her head, even as Eliza felt her mother begin to draw on her power. Eliza straightened in her seat with a gasp, her hands going to her head as she let go of some natural mental barriers; releasing her power to her mother through their connection without hesitation. Her mother almost never used that tone of voice.

"Are you feeling okay?" the teacher's voice penetrated the haze she was suddenly in.

"I'm... I've.. got a migraine I need to..." Eliza didn't even bother finishing her sentence as she stumbled out of her chair, out of the classroom and down the hall toward the nearest exit. She stumbled out the door into the outside air… into the rain. She barely made it around the corner of the building before she collapsed to her knees. She found herself next to the dumpsters, and she crawled the final few feet to hide between them. Thankfully she was obscured from anyone's' vision unless they walked right up to the dumpster to throw something away. She remained there on her knees, cradling her head in her hands as constant throbbing agony boiled through it.

Since she and her mother had realized they could use one another's abilities they had tested the limits of it. When they were together, the abilities flowed between them almost communally. However, giving their powers to each other over extended periods of time or extended distances was dangerous. It caused the person whose power was being drawn upon great pain and terrible weakness rendering them barely aware of their surroundings. In essence it made her incredibly vulnerable thus they only did it in emergencies.

Eliza didn't even notice what was going on around her because of the waves of pain in her head. She faintly heard the bell inside the school two or three minutes later, releasing people from their classes. She didn't know how much time had passed when she looked up through bleary eyes to see Jasper standing there holding her book bag.

"What's going on?" He asked, crouching down. He could feel the waves of pain radiating from her. Though he didn't come any closer when Eliza waved him back, he didn't just leave either. He was still standing there several minutes later when the pain of being drawn upon suddenly stopped. Eliza gasped out loud with the relief of it, though the mental haze was slower in receding as she stood up slowly on shaky legs and threw her head back to let the rain wash over her face.

She took a deep breath and turned to Jasper, who was still standing there, plainly concerned, " Thank you, I'm o-" she cut herself off with a yelp, as suddenly pain exploded in her left arm, her right shoulder and all along her left leg, and she collapsed under the sudden pain and the shock. The only thing that kept her from hitting the ground again was Jasper, who's stunned and confused as to what was happening.

Eliza saw Jaspers' mouth move to say something but her mother's voice in her head was far louder than Jasper's external one. Isabella's voice snapped in absolute authority. _**"Eliza, find a Cullen, I don't care which one. Tell them we need Carlisle. Immediately! I don't care what you have to do. Meet me at the house. We have two wounded and it's bad."**_

Eliza sent a thought to her Mother; it sounded strained, even in her own mind._**"What's your ETA?"**_

_**"Ten minutes, maybe 15, I'm a little hobbled. Get Carlisle NOW."**_

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**Author's notes**

**1)Wheeee! ^_^ I'm relatively proud of this chapter and the next one. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**2) If it's not obvious, Alice/Bella is getting closer. Or rather I should say that the START of Bellice. I know i'm repeating myself but it won't happen fast. and we've got lots of story to go.**

**3) Ciffhanger!**

**4) DarkBella's Author's notes: When I read the initial chapters of the story, I was impressed by it's potential. On a whim I contacted Kathryn and asked her if she'd like me to beta, I felt like I might be able to help some. I guess it was serendipitous because we work together on a little more than just grammar in this story. I truly hope you have half as much fun reading it as we are making it.**

**5) "Little more" she says. She's works on so much more than she'll admit. Including partial chops and re-writes. She's amazing and fully half of why this is flowing so well!**

**Lastly! Please read and review. It helps us knowing that people are reading it. Specifics of things you like and don't like help us as we refine our writing.**

**But most of all we just like knowing that other people are taking the time to enjoy what we put so much of ourselves into.**


	18. First Blood

**Chapter 18**

Eliza's pain ended when her mother severed the direct connection between their two minds. When the connection was severed, the pain Eliza was feeling in her arms and leg became a more distant, subtle throbbing. Eliza shuddered realizing her mother must have sustained an injury of some significance

Eliza looked up at Jasper who's support was the only thing preventing her from hitting the ground, and she suddenly pushed him away to stand on her own two feet. "I need you to get a hold of Carlisle right now. We need his help. People are hurt."

Jasper's expression was puzzled, "What? What do you need?"

Eliza shook her head, growling at him, "Get him on the damn phone, tell him to meet me here in three minutes or I swear by all that is holy, that if I have to; I will show up at his hospital and drag him out by his hair through the fucking walls." Noting Jasper's shocked expression, she softened her tone, but only marginally.

"Please. I don't know all the details yet, but there are two wounded and it's very bad. I promise I will answer any question you have. If you have to tell him it's an official request for assistance from the Volturi and we will owe him." Eliza said, her voice turning her request into a plea. She knew her mother well enough and knew that she wouldn't have used her power like that without need. Eliza also knew that she would never have asked for help from any of the Cullens if it wasn't an extreme emergency.

Jasper shook his head, but to Eliza's relief he didn't ask any more questions. He was already pulling out his phone. Eliza waited while it rang twice before she could hear it answered.

"Jasper? Is everything okay?" She heard Carlisle's voice. He was obviously concerned to hear from one of his children during school hours.

"No, I need you to meet me out front of the school right now. There's a major emergency. Don't waste time driving, RUN." Jasper's voice was calm but very grave, in an effort to convey the how serious the situation was.

"Tell him to bring whatever medical tools he may need for any sort of injury. I don't know any specifics yet." Eliza interjected,

Carlisle's voice hesitated only a moment, "I heard that. I'll be there in a few minutes." he said and hung up.

Jasper slid his phone into his pocket and then met Eliza's eyes, "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"

Eliza shook her head "No time now, but I promise when this is over I'll tell you anything you want to know." Eliza headed away from the dumpsters and toward the street. She was trying to control her worry, she knew her mother was hurt, but how badly she didn't know, she wondered who else was hurt. It wasn't until she was waiting in front of the school that Eliza realized she'd been followed by Jasper.

"What are you doing?" Eliza demanded when she saw Jasper standing next to her.

"I'm going with you." Jasper stated shortly, in a tone that suggested nothing that she could say would convince him otherwise.

"We don't need your help." She responded instinctively, her eyes searching for any sign of Carlisle.

"It's pretty obvious you don't know exactly what's going on either, but you were desperate enough to offer a Volturi favor unilaterally in exchange for Carlisle's help. A favor I didn't need to trade or offer you'll notice. But if something's going on, he may need help." Jasper responded stubbornly, making it clear he wasn't going to back down.

Eliza was saved making any response as Carlisle appeared with a speed that would have been invisible to mortal eyes, stopping directly in front of them, "What's the big emergency?" He was looking at the school for any signs of a major accident.

He'd been looking for signs of a catastrophe, then he saw Eliza. After finally seeing her it was easy to see what had his family so worked up. The resemblance between this girl and the Bella he remembered was striking. "Oh you must be El-"

"Time for introductions later," Eliza cut him off. "I don't know all the details yet. But I need you to come with me to my house, we've got two injured, and I'm told it's bad." Without waiting for any response she immediate ran in the direction of her house, pausing only long enough to be sure Carlisle and Jasper were following her, and that she wasn't running fast enough to outdistance them.

She took them on the shortest and simplest route to their house, making no attempt to hide their direction or location. She threw open the front and stormed inside, looking around to see if her mother had somehow beaten them there. Carlisle and Jasper followed her in.

Henry was there reading a newspaper, finishing a bowl of cereal and looked up in surprise. "Eliza? I wasn't ex... What's going on?" He asked noting Eliza's condition, knees and hands covered in dirt, clothes soaking wet, her expression wild and the guests that followed her.

Carlisle frowned at Henry, he'd been expecting some sort of medical emergency. However, it was clear that whatever he thought he might encounter upon entering the house of another coven, a slightly disheveled mortal eating Cocoa Puffs and reading a newspaper was not it. Carlisle turned to look at Eliza with an openly confused expression, only to become more confused when he saw Eliza's expression which moments before had been wild, turn blank. It reminded him of Alice when she was experiencing a vision.

_**"Mother, how far are you out?"**_ Eliza directed her thought towards Isabella, feeling the subtle numb throbbing in her limbs become an explosion of pain when she connected. Eliza was prepared this time, so she didn't collapse again, though she couldn't stop a slight tremble that ran through her arms and legs.

_**"We're 3 minutes away. Do you have Carlisle with you?" **_Isabella's voice answered, though Eliza could tell that she was strained. She could feel the pain that each step caused her mother, but she didn't comment on it, because she could also feel Isabella's focus on her goal rather than on her injuries and she didn't want to distract from that.

_**"Yes Mother, he's here and so is Jasper."**_ She said, adding the last as an afterthought and a warning to her mother.

_**"Tell Carlisle to prepare for two shape shifters with massive injuries, both internal and external, with a large amount of breaks and fractures."**_ Isabella answered, completely ignoring the topic of Jasper. Whether it was through true apathy, or a focus on larger concerns at the moment, Eliza didn't know and moreover was concerned with the current crisis.

Eliza's eyes snapped back into focus and as the pain in her extremities faded once again she looked at Carlisle, "There are two Quileutes, both with massive injuries inside and out, with an unknown quantity of breaks and fractures."

Carlisle's head shot up in surprise, but he didn't ask questions, instead he turned his head to look at Jasper. "Jasper, call and get Esme. I'm going to need someone to help me, and she's the only one who's been trained as a nurse."

Jasper was on the phone to Esme as soon as the words left Carlisle's mouth. Esme picked up on the second ring and a few moments later, Jasper was sprinting out the door to meet her and bring her to the house.

Carlisle looked at Eliza and then Henry, "I'm going to need two places to put them, preferably close together."

Henry's face was serious but calm as he turned and pointed at the stairs leading to the second floor, "We've got bedrooms, a couple are right across the hall from one another, that close enough?"

Carlisle nodded "If you don't mind?" he gestured towards the stairs, for Henry to lead the way.

Henry shook his head quickly, "Pick any rooms you want, Whatever works. Eliza's room is probably the only one I wouldn't use. You'll notice it immediately, it's the one decorated with a giant picture of a dragon head on the door."

All heads in the room shot up together as they heard the distant howl of a wolf. It was a howl of urgency and it was returned from equally far away, by a single howl, which was then joined by several more.

Before any of them had time to say anything the screen door at the front of the house seemed to explode inward. Everyone's heads turned and Eliza gasped at the sight, along with anyone else in the room. Her mother stood there, barely recognizable even to Eliza's own eyes. Her black pants and shirt were hanging off of her in tatters, her hair a mess, her entire body drenched and covered in blood. Over each arm she carried the naked forms of two of the Quileutes, their bodies covered in scratches, and gouges, bleeding heavily and one of them was twisted oddly as if his back wasn't in quite the right shape.

"Where?" Isabella demanded, her voice hoarse and harsh with strain.

Carlisle took half a second to recover from his shock at the sight, and his years of medical training took over. Eliza was certain that it was due to the look and shape of the Quileutes and her mother. She didn't think Carlisle recognized Isabella in her current state. Eliza barely recognized her.

"Upstairs in the bedrooms." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Isabella ran upstairs, Carlisle right on her heels, helping her place first one victim in bed, and then the other just across the hall.

A few moments later Jacob bounded in the door, transforming mid-stride, heedless of his nudity. "Are they going to be okay?" He demanded of everyone and anyone in a loud voice.

"I don't know yet," Carlisle's voice answered from upstairs.

A few moments later another wolf bounded through the door and seeing Jacob, changed on the spot, into Rachel Lahote whom Eliza recognized, she was Paul's mate. She also didn't seem to notice her lack of clothing "Where is he? Is he okay?" She demanded frantically. Jacob caught her before she could dash up the stairs. "We don't know yet, Doctor Cullen is working on them."

Esme ran in a few moments later, Jasper close on her heels, both of them blinking in surprise attwo more people in the room, stark naked. Eliza spoke up, to cut off any questions. "He's upstairs and he needs your help." Esme didn't waste any time rushing upstairs to join Carlisle.

Henry coughed delicately and slipped upstairs, returning a few moments later carrying two pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt and offered them to Rachel and Jacob, "Here, I think these will fit."

Jacob and Rachel blushed, as if only then becoming aware of their state of undress, taking the clothes and tugging them on in a hurry, even as they did, there was the sound of several more people running in, as the rest of the Quileutes pushed themselves through the door.

Eliza was thankful that they had all managed to put clothes on after shifting, before running into the house. She didn't think Henry had enough spare sweats to cover everyone. She noticed Tekali hastened to Jacob's side, looking him over for injuries, Leah came to a stop on the other side of Jacob, her eyes full of fear and anger. The rest of the pack stood there tensely, more than one gave Eliza and Jasper suspicious looks.

"Are they okay? What the hell happened?" A cacophony of loud and very upset voices demanded.

"We don't know yet, Dr. Cullen is working on them now." Jacob replied, holding the side of his ribs gingerly.

"What? You're letting a leech work on them? It's their fault Paul and Seth are hurt!" One of the pack members snarled accusingly, pointing a finger in Eliza's direction.

"No, they're hurt because we were stupid, ignored our instincts and got in over our heads." Jacob countered with a snarl, of his own. The pack member who'd pointed his finger looked suitably chastened by the response and bowed his head slightly in apology.

"That… right. We…stupid …. un'pared." came a guttural rasp from the top of the stairs. Eliza turned her head as her mother moved stiffly down the stairs. The newly arrived pack let out a collective gasp. Isabella's clothes hung in tatters around her frame, barely preserving modesty, much less anything else. Her skin was covered in gouges, in some places it looked like the stone-like skin had been crushed. Her hair was in complete disarray covering half of her face, matted with rain and blood and mud. She was dragging one leg slightly and one shoulder was dropped lower than the other as she stepped slowly down the stairs. She barely appeared to be human, which ironically enough, she wasn't.

Eliza had never seen her mother in such bad condition, the pain she felt in her arms and leg when the two of them had connected earlier made sense now. However, even the shock of seeing her mother like this didn't make Eliza miss Jasper's reaction. She heard him start in surprise at the same time the rest of them had. However it was Jasper's second involuntary, unneeded breath of utter shock that told Eliza that he had seen past the injuries and recognized Isabella. Jasper stood stock still as his mind struggled to confirm what his eyes were showing him.

"'ust…feed.. 'n… get… ready" Isabella said even as she took one step away from the stairs. Without the support of the rail she went toppling forward, only to be caught by Eliza, who beat Jasper there by a whisker. Eliza was doing her best to control her emotions and not panic when a wave of calm washed over her. "I've got you; I'll go out and catch something!"

"No need," Henry said rushing back into the room from the door leading to the basement. Eliza blinked in surprise to see him carrying several medical bags of blood. Eliza shifted her mother over to the couch and laid her head on the arm rest as Henry rushed forward and deposited half a dozen bags right next to her.

Eliza looked up at him an unspoken question on her face.

Henry shrugged "I'm living with two vampires, until the rest of your supply gets here, it never hurts to be prepared for an emergency."

Eliza punctured a hole in one of the bags, and held it up to Isabella's mouth, which she fastened on the bag and began to drink greedily. Eliza noticed out of the corner of her eye again that Jasper had moved to the foot of the couch and was openly staring at her mother. He looked at her as if trying to convince himself he wasn't dreaming. He very much appeared as if he were seeing a ghost.

Jacob spoke up, concerned eyes on Isabella. "She was right. We have to get ready. We ran into another pack, and probably only part of them because none of them were an alpha. The rest could follow us any time and they're probably already on the way."

"No! Safe…" Isabella shook her head firmly and began to protest, then pressed her hand to her throat, where there were several deep gouges. She swallowed several times and then pointed at Eliza. "Your p'er in 'ight… 'splain… safe." A few moments later her mother's voice was clear and very irritated in Eliza's mind. _**"Explain to them about your cloak, tell them that we're safe."**_

Eliza nodded slightly in acknowledgment, still crouched next to the couch. She turned her head to look at the pack "She was using my power during your fight. We're not in danger; they can't track us from there to here."

Jacob frowned at that, looking doubtful and confused though Leah spoke up first, her expression puzzled, "Your power? What do you mean?"

"Some vampires have certain unique gifts. One of the things I can do is a.. cloak of sorts. When I use it, everything inside is sealed in. You can see outside it, but anyone looking in sees, hears or smells anything. Nothing you do inside the bubble gets to the outside until you get to the edges." Eliza was trying to keep the explanation of her abilities as simple as possible

Leah frowned as she watched Eliza. She was worried about her brother, and equally as worried about Eliza. She looked like she was on the verge of panicking at the state of her mother. "Yes but you weren't there…"

Eliza nodded, "I know, but we can use our connection. Use one another's abilities. If we're within a few hundred yards of one another it's easy, it's hard if we're doing it over a distance like that. Whatever you were doing when she used my power was completely hidden." She didn't make mention of just how much it hurt and endangered her, and cast a hard glance at Jasper to assure his silence.

Jacob nodded very slowly, comprehension dawning, "That's why she took the extra time to start the fire isn't it, so there were no traces of us having been there in the aftermath…?"

Isabella nodded firmly. She was already on her second bag of blood. Eliza couldn't begin to describe her relief. It was obvious her mother was already looking better.

Eliza looked away from Isabella to look at Jacob, as Leah demanded "So tell us what the hell happened."

Jacob sighed, looking around as all of the eyes in the room focused on him. "We found exactly what we most feared. We went to the warehouse where Bella encountered the other vampires and wolves, only to find a pile of smoking ashes. Someone had burned it to the ground; something we hardly believe was a coincidence. Bella swore the fire she started with the vampires burned itself out before she left. The fire made it really hard to pick up any sort of decent trail."

"So we started scouted the city most of yesterday and into last night. The only thing we noticed is that there was almost no one on the streets after two am or so." Jacob said,

"Is that unusual? I mean… it's two a.m." One of the pack members spoke up. Eliza wasn't sure of his name but he looked like a younger member of the pack.

"That's what I thought." Jacob said, "But Paul pointed out that there was no indigents, no homeless people, and no sort of activity at all. How many big cities can say that about at any hour? Anyway, we waited until morning to venture into the sewers where she'd lost the wolves the other day. Seth was able to pick up a faint trail over the stench of everything else down there. You know how he's got the best sense of smell of any of us. At that point we didn't have any other options, we followed it."

"We walked into tunnels and found some that seemed to have been abandoned by the city for years, and stepped right into a horror show. There were skeletons everywhere, some very old, others more recent. And there were smells of le-vampires and wolves. I couldn't even begin to count the different number of scents. Bella suggested that we'd found the lair and that we should pull back and do some proper reconnaissance, Seth agreed with her. Paul and I overrode them because we could hear faint voices in the tunnels." He shuddered, looking over at Bella, who was finishing a third packet of blood. She didn't say anything, but she met his eyes steadily. Jacob was surprised to find that there was no accusation or recrimination in those scarlet eyes.

Jacob hung his head slightly but continued. "We followed one of the tunnels to a large opening, a room where all these pipes converged. Inside were eleven of our kind, and another six vampires. There were all these bodies there too, and I mean _all_ sorts, men, women… children. We stayed long enough to hear a bit of their conversation. At that point we decided it would be best to fall back. Bella was really keyed in on what they were saying. Something they said got her worked up and I had to physically pull her back to keep her from attacking them on the spot. Unfortunately, we weren't as sneaky as we thought coming in, because a vampire followed us in and attacked us from behind. That drew the attention of the group in the room. Paul, Seth and I shifted, and the four of us attacked. At least they didn't expect _that._"

"I tried to reach any of you in wolf form to at least tell you what was happening, but I couldn't connect with any of you. None of you must have been shifted." Jacob said, looking around.

Embry frowned, "I've been in wolf form all day, just in case you needed to pass along information or something."

Eliza coughed softly, "That would be my cloak. I have a bit more control over it than she does. When I'm using it, she and I can still speak through our connection. When she uses it, as far as we've been able to tell, it's like a black hole, things may go in but nothing gets out. It works with any form of telepathy we've been able to test thus far."

Jacob sighed, "It was utter chaos, Bella and I were fighting the wolves, Paul and Seth were hitting the vampires. Bella killed five of the wolves before they had a chance to shift. The rest managed to shift though. We had the major advantage of surprise, before a vampire got his arms around Paul, and squeezed him. I've never heard a howl like that before." He cringed as he gave Rachel's hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance and apology.

"Seth pulled the vampire off and tore it's head off, only to be grabbed by another then crushed and twisted. When that happened, Bella sort of went berserk. I've never seen anyone move that fast. I finished the last two wolves that were on me, I turn around to see only dead vampires with Bella snarling like a rabid animal."

"Bella was a mess, but she took thirty extra seconds, gathering the bodies and starting a giant fire. There were enough chemicals soaked into the floor and ground I'm surprised it didn't spontaneously combust on its own. Paul and Seth were in horrible shape, and she insisted on carrying them back here, since she could do it way faster than us getting on our bikes or something. She told me there'd be help here, but didn't say any more."

Jasper listened to the entire story, remaining silent, his attention finally leaving Isabella's form after his senses confirmed irrevocably what his brain told him he was seeing. As Jacob began to relate the story, his focus had shifted to a frown of puzzlement and he finally spoke up. "Vampires working with shifters? That's... not something I've ever heard of before. Much less seen. We're almost always natural enemies. Why would they be working together?"

Jacob shrugged in response; "It was new to all of us too. Isabella was the first to stumble on it a few days ago and we've been on the trail ever since. She said pretty much the same thing you just did. Vampires and werewol- I mean shifters don't work together."

"What do we do now?" Embry spoke up, his voice still laced with anger; though this time it wasn't directed at the vampires in the room.

"Now we wait to hear about Paul and Seth…. then… we'll see." Jacob said loudly, abruptly standing up and pacing the rather crowded living room. Members of the pack backed up to give him space tomove but none of them seemed willing to leave. He looked over at the couch and Eliza. "Will she be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Isabella said before her daughter could respond. She sat up slowly, turning to put her feet on the floor but she made no move to stand up. She didn't open her eyes, but she tilted her head slightly in Henry's direction. "Thank you. You're really good at the whole 'being prepared' thing." He chuckled by way of an answer.

Slowly Isabella stood up, keeping her eyes closed she murmured quietly. "Eliza, my left arm please," She half asked, half commanded. Eliza took a second before she nodded and reached out to grip her mother's left wrist with both hands as it hung at her side.

"One.. two… three!" Eliza counted and then jerked her mother's arm back as her mother jerked forward. Isabella's entire body audibly snapped before Eliza released her mother's wrist, and her mother arched, throwing back her head and snarling at the pain of her dislocated shoulder jerking back into place. She breathed in and out several times before tilting her head to look at Eliza, finally focusing on something.

"I am going to shower, and I am going to change. I've been in a sewer all day." She stated, her icy calm voice a direct contradiction to the emotion of a few moments earlier. She turned to walk up the stairs before stopping, and said,. "Jacob, there's more than one shower. I'm sure your pack agrees that you stink. Whether Seth and Paul come through okay has nothing to do with how long you sit there smelling." She continued upstairs without looking back.

Henry chuckled and murmured to Jacob, "Let me show you to the shower."

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**Author's notes-**

**1) ****Cliffhangers drive me nuts too. So I couldn't wait too long before posting this chapter. **

**2) In case it isn't obvious in story. The link between Eliza and Isabella is *always* there. They can always tell what one another is feeling. But when they connect enough to talk, it's a stronger connection so what one another feels gets stronger. When they connect enough to see through one another's eyes it's even more powerful. Etc.**

**3) Once again, massive praise to DarkBella. She has officially become a co-author on this, because of how much she does. Helping ideas. bouncing things back and forth with me. Providing ideas, and rewriting some of my prose (which can be awkward or... totally not say what I want it too). I accidentally wrote something in this story that said Carlisle split one of the wolves in two, and in a sentence mentioning both Eliza and Jasper that Bella was Jasper's mother. She gently corrected me on that. ("Wow. Bella's been a busy girl.") She is WONDERFUL.**

**4) I'm not sure if any of you care. But this chapter and the previous chapter are chapters that I wrote, and then deleted and massively re-wrote. They didn't come out the way I wanted originally. In the original chapter, Eliza didn't rush outside. She rushed into the bathroom. Jasper didn't come to check on her. Alice did. (He told Alice about it because he thought it might cause raised eyebrows if he went into the girl's bathroom.) **

**Alice was the one who contacted Carlisle and went with them to the house. Alice was the one who was stunned when she saw Bella on the stairs. I was setting it up to be their first interaction. The big reveal that Bella was back. and the first step in "Bellice". But... it only half worked. It worked for Alice. The impact on her. I could explore her thoughts and feelings. It *didn't* work on Bella. She had too many other things going on in this scene that I couldn't get her in the form of mind that *fit* a meeting of that magnitude. I wanted their first face to face to give them both a chance for reflection and impact. **

**(Not sure any of you care to know that. but I thought some of you may appreciate occasionally knowing the ideas that flow and some of the discarded thoughts here. If not. Feel free to tell me and I'll keep them to myself in the future.) **

**5) ****I haven't had a chance to respond the the last two chapters of reviews but i will do that tonight and tommorrow. I was too busy getting this chapter out :P i hope there aren't protests! **

**6) So now one of the Cullens knows that Bella is alive. O_O The rest will soon follow. So interactions aplenty coming up :O **

**If you're kind enough to review. I'd love to know which interaction you're looking forward to the most! (I'm guessing most will be Bella/Alice. But hopefully there's some interest in the other reactions and interactions as well.)**

**Lastly... if you've read. Please review. DarkBella and I both look at the reviews and it encourages us going forward.**


	19. A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away

**Chapter 19**

The entire pack just stood, leaned or sat anywhere they could as they waited for news, for them the worst part was the waiting. Leah sat down on the couch, obviously worried about Seth. Eliza sat next to her taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Leah smiled half-heartedly.

Jacob returned following a brief but thorough shower with nothing to do but pace amid the rising tension. It was another 15 minutes before Carlisle returned, followed by Esme.

Rachel spoke first, "Are they going to be okay?" She asked before Carlisle even exited the stairs.

Carlisle nodded very slowly. "They will be. They're in bad shape, some of the bones had begun to heal so I had to re-break them to set them correctly. Fortunately they remained unconscious. One of them had a serious spinal fracture., We re-aligned his back, and his involuntary reflexes are intact. They'll both make a full recovery. They need rest and lots of it. I know you heal quickly, but I recommend bed rest for three or four days, to be absolutely sure they heal properly."

The relief in the room was palpable, as the entire group let out a deep breath no one realized they were holding. "Can I go see him?" Rachel asked quietly.

Carlisle nodded, "I would give him an hour or so before you do, he shouldn't move before the initial healing begins. After that you can. I must also say I overheard the majority of your story while we worked. A wolf pack you have no knowledge of working with vampires is a serious concern to us as well." He said, glancing at Eliza as he spoke.

Jacob slumped in relief. "Well we certainly owe you that much. I know this wasn't easy and we've never gotten along. Thank you." He frowned, while he was relieved about Paul and Seth, the events of the day concerned him.

"Who or what is Joham?" Jacob asked suddenly.

Carlisle frowned, perplexed, "I don't know the name."

Jasper's head turned suddenly from Carlisle to Eliza, his eyes wide. He wasn't sure who Joham was, but Eliza was suddenly and clearly seething with rage and hatred.

Eliza was very still for a moment and then slowly turned her entire body to look at Jacob, who was looking at her curiously. Leah stared her as well, concern shadowing her face as she became aware of Eliza's sudden tension. "Where did you hear that that name?" Eliza hissed coldly.

This elicited surprised looks. Eliza had been relatively easy going thus far and this was anything but. Jacob frowned more deeply. "When we were eavesdropping, one of the lee- vampires mentioned getting in touch with Joham again because they needed larger numbers. And one of the others said something about 'him moving from city to city or hiding wherever his lab was. How they were never to bother him unless it was an emergency' He sounded like someone they were scared of, but working for."

Eliza's face slowly darkened with rage, her lips peeling back, but her snarl stopped abruptly. "Oh son of a …." She didn't finish the sentence before she ran up the stairs, pushing past Carlisle and Esme.

Carlisle looked confused and simply looked up tat where Eliza had just dashed upstairs. He turned and looked at the pack who seemed equally confused. "What...?"

Eliza climbed straight up to her mother's room in the attic. There she found Isabella fully dressed, black cloak over her arm, opening the latches to the large window in her room.

**"**_**Where do you think you're going?" **_Eliza demanded, though she was certain she already knew.

_**"I'm better now, so I'm going back. This is the closest I've come to that bastard in years. The only reason I came back is because of the wolves." **_Isabella replied, hesitating at the window.

_**"Don't be stupid Mother, you know you're nowhere near one hundred percent. We may heal fast, but not THAT fast. You know I want him dead as much as you do. But you also know there will be no trace to follow, especially after you started a fire. I'm supposed to be the rash and impulsive one. You're supposed to be the levelheaded one. And you can't lead us anywhere if you're dead damn it!" **_Eliza shot back at her mother, her tone firm.

_**"I'm going back." **_Isabella stated just as tersely. _**"I'm not going to pass up even the slightest chance to find him. Take care of things here while I'm gone."**_ Isabella replied in her daughter's mind with a tone of finality. Isabella turned back to the window to finish the last latch and tug it open.

Eliza did the only thing she could think of.

Everyone was still in the living room, confusion and puzzlement reigning on their faces at Eliza's sudden outburst when they suddenly heard a shouted. "Oh HELL no!" Then the whole house shook slightly as there was a shattering of glass and splintering of wood, followed by the thumps of something hitting the second story roof and then another as something hit the ground outside.

The pack rushed as one out the door, followed just behind by Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme and a slower Henry following. None of them were prepared for what they saw.

Isabella and Eliza were locked in combat, the two of them rolling on the ground, covered in mud. It was clear Eliza had the advantage. Thirty seconds after the pack arrived outside, she had Isabella pinned and they seemed to engage in a staring contest. No one said anything as the two stared at each other.

Finally Isabella closed her eyes and nodded a little bit as if giving in, but Eliza didn't let her up. Instead she snarled, though her tone also carried a hint of desperation, "Promise me you won't go after him alone."

Isabella looked up at Eliza and said clearly, though her tone was resigned. "Together. I swear."

With that Eliza hopped off and helped Isabella to her feet, pulling her into a tight hug, one that Isabella returned just as tightly.

"Uh… what just happened?" Jacob asked, voicing the question for everyone there.

Isabella and Eliza broke apart self-consciously. "Sorry… we just had a small disagreement." Isabella said, most of her irritation gone. Seeing doubt on everyone's faces, she continued "I'll explain, after I have a second shower." She said, glancing down at her mud covered form

"And after I have a first." Eliza spoke up. Isabella glanced up at t the hole in the wall where the attic window used to be. "I guess you'll have to fix that..." She said absently, following her daughter into the house. She walked past Carlisle and Esme, who stared at her, dumbfounded. They clearly recognized her despite the bit of mud on her face and in her hair, but were too taken aback to say anything on the spot.

Jacob muttered quietly. "100 years and I still don't understand women." The entire pack burst out in laughter.

Henry shook head bemusedly, "Reinforced architecture and it lasts less than a week. Maybe I should have just gone with a military bunker."

As Eliza approached the stairs Leah slipped in by her side.

"Wow, I had no idea you were so much stronger than Isabella." Leah whispered, genuinely stunned.

"Are you kidding? If Mother wasn't still badly hurt I'd have been lucky to get out of a that fight in one piece." Eliza laughed, genuine amusement crossing her face.

Isabella harrumphed, as she headed into the house ahead of them. Leah hadn't known Isabella's hearing was that good. Leah also noticed with a slight shiver that Isabella did not disagree with Eliza's assessment.

Eliza grinned as she headed into the house with Leah at her side, "Once Mother and another guard named Felix got into an argument. To prove a point, she not only beat the crap out of Felix in a sparring session; but during the fight, she stripped him down to his underwear in front of the entire Volturi guard. He's never lived down the Star Wars boxers. I prefer to keep my underwear hidden thank you very much." Eliza explained.

"That's a shame." Leah retorted with a grin, which elicited an embarrassed smile from Eliza as she headed into the house.

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It was almost half an hour later when Eliza came back downstairs, looking remarkably refreshed. She sat back down on the couch, Leah eagerly shifting slightly to allow Eliza to scrunch in between her and the armrest. Before the questions could begin, Isabella descended the stairs as well. She looked amazingly improved, all physical damage to her face gone and her movements graceful and fluid once more.

When she entered the room, Carlisle and Esme moved forward slowly, a look of shock on their faces, hinting at pleasure and excitement. Carlisle spoke first "Bella Swan! I can't believe it's really y-"

Isabella held up her hand cutting him off and forestalling Este's attempt to embrace her. Her voice was extremely polite but utterly cold, scarlet eyes flashing. "Stop, I am indebted to you for your help with Paul and Seth. However, that's all it is; a debt. You may request recompense at some point if you wish. You don't get to pretend that we're friends. We are far from that. You cheerfully gave up any rights for me to desire your company or even acknowledge your existence long ago. I suspect you may recall when. Or was perhaps it so insignificant you've forgotten? No matter; I haven't."

Her words were akin to a bucket of cold water being poured on Carlisle who seemed shocked and hurt, and it was even worse for Esme, who looked like she'd been slapped. It was her who started to stutter a reply. "Bella we-" when she was cut off a second time.

"My name is Isabella Volturi." She said icily. The reaction on their face was almost as pronounced this time around, both of them seemed to flinch but she continued, frost still in her voice. "You wanted to know what was going on. I will share that information with you. If you still desire it."

It took them both a few moments to recover their composure. Carlisle's face relaxed a little bit, the shock dissolving, though he remained tense. Esme's face was frozen in stunned horror. It was Jasper who finally spoke. "I believe we'd like to hear the whole story."

Isabella nodded, joining Eliza at the couch, resting her hip on an armrest. Eliza reached up and rubbed Isabella's back soothingly. It was an action none of the Cullens missed.

"Here's the short version. I'm sure you've noticed the rise in attacks over the past few months, especially in Seattle, in other cities as well." Isabella waited for Carlisle, Jasper and Esme to respond with nods before continuing. "Eliza and I were dispatched by the Volturi to stop them."

Carlisle spoke up, "You and Eliza are…?" he trailed off.

"We're partners." Isabella said absently, "Aro has decided it would be better if we remain in the area rather than travel back and forth between here and Volterra. Eliza and I were assigned the west coast, Alec and Jane the east coast, and Felix and Demetri are in Mexico and South America. I was investigating a recent suspicious death in Seattle on Monday when I ran into three vampires working with two wolves. The wolf shifters were eating a human body, and seemed quite comfortable with our kind."

"I contacted the Quileutes, because they're the only wolf shifters I know. I thought at first that these shifters were part of their pack, but they were as confused about the whole thing as Eliza and I. Their entire pack was accounted for, and none of them were near Seattle. They concurred it was a mutual concern, especially if they were killing humans. We agreed to form an alliance. We spent the last two days in Seattle trying to track more down. We were successful in finding more of them, if not successful in the aftermath." Isabella glanced upstairs where the two Quileutes were; not needing to say more.

Carlisle frowned. "I've never encountered another group of shifters like the Quileutes. Where have these wolves suddenly come from?"

Isabella shrugged, "We haven't figured that out yet. It's something we need to find out."

Jacob spoke up, "Okay, can we answer my earlier question, before you two decided to go all WWE in the mud? Who is Joham, and how does he figure this?"

Both Eliza and Isabella flinched, Eliza's hand curled slightly around her mother's side, and Isabella's and dropped to Eliza's shoulder, before Isabella replied. "Joham is an ancient vampire though I loathe acknowledging _any_ kinship with scum such as him. The oldest most twisted and evil vampire I have ever encountered. The greatest good he could perform in this life would be his parting company with it."

"The Volturi have declared his life forfeit. I came close to getting him twice, but he escaped. Now his name comes up in connection with these attacks, and these wolves in Seattle. That was why Eliza was so upset and why we were… disagreeing. I planned to go back there to try and track him down myself." Isabella shrugged, almost casually.

"When you were still hurt, not at full strength, and have no idea what you're facing. I'm not letting it happen. I'm not willing to lose you just because you're really pissed off." Eliza said, unapologetically.

"What is it you plan to do about all of this?" Carlisle asked, unable to restrain his curiosity.

Isabella quickly made a decision. "We plan to let it sit a few days. Let Paul and Seth heal, let things cool down in Seattle. Whoever we're dealing with will be hyper-vigilant and keep their heads down. When there are no further contacts over the next few days, they'll assume that the Volturi enforcer has moved on."

"I hate to interrupt" Rachel's voice spoke up after a few moments of silence had settled, "But can we go up and see them now?" She had been getting noticeably more anxious as the minutes had gone by and wanted to see her mate as soon as possible.

Carlisle glanced at his watch the noted how nervous she was before nodding, "Yes, just be careful and relatively quiet, they'll probably be unconscious for a while." Rachel and Leah both bolted up the stairs before he finished.

Carlisle frowned and turned to Isabella, "Are they going to be okay here for a few days? They really shouldn't be moved for a while, a move might jostle them too much."

Isabella snorted derisively, "They're welcome here as long as they want and need." she answered half to Carlisle and half as reassurance to Jacob.

"I should probably check on them once or twice a day, over the next few days, will that be a problem?" Carlisle asked cautiously, almost stiffly, still a little bit sensitive over the cold, if courteous, reception.

Isabella frowned briefly. "No, after the service you've provided, you are welcome here. You three may come and go as you please." The Cullens glanced at each other, noting the specificity of the welcome.

Carlisle nodded slowly in acceptance. "I understand. I'll check on my patients once more before getting out of your hair." He said, standing up and with a nod, ascending the stairs to look in on the two.

Isabella nodded then glanced over at Jacob and Eliza, "Don't freak out, We need to make a short trip back to Seattle." Before Eliza protest Isabella continued, "We left our bikes on the outskirts of town and we need to go pick them up. Just the trip there, pick them up, the trip back. No stopping."

Eliza narrowed her eyes suspiciously a moment before nodding, "Okay, if that's all you're going to do... go ahead and do that, I'll call Aro and give him an update, he's going to want to know about this."

Isabella nodded before looking at Jacob, "Coming?"

Jacob nodded and then glanced at his wife in a wordless question, and she stood up with him, before he turned his head, "Tekali will get Seth's bike, Embry why don't you come along to get Paul's?" Embry just nodded.

Isabella grabbed a book bag before stepping outside with the three shape shifters in tow. She turned her back when three of them stripped down then shifted into wolves. She took a moment to gather their clothes and put them in the book bag before grinning at Jacob's russet-furred form. "Race you!" She called as she sped away. The three wolves yelped in surprise and giving chase.

After they were gone, Eliza waited in the living room quietly until Carlisle came downstairs. He looked at her, raising his eyebrow curiously, wondering where Isabella had gone, but not voicing his concern, instead he calmly said, "They look better, they should regain consciousness soon and I'm guessing they'll be hungry."

Eliza nodded, "Henry is already getting them some food." She said, following them to the door.

Carlisle turned to regard her as she stood in the doorway. "Two things… You know I'll have to tell the rest of my family what happened here? _Everything _that happened here. They have a right to know it all."

Eliza shrugged a little bit, "I think we'll have to agree to disagree regarding their rights, but I don't object to you informing them about what happened here. It's not like the three of you were going to be able to keep it all hidden from Edward anyway."

Carlisle frowned a bit at the non-reaction, "You know that several of them will want to talk to her; most especially Edward."

Eliza frowned and nodded slowly, "I understand. However, only the three of you are welcome in our territory. Now that you know it's here, anyone else entering would be trespassing and we would be well within our rights to deal with such incursions appropriately." Carlisle scowled, but Eliza continued. "Perhaps we'll both be at school tomorrow. I can't guarantee any conversation would be welcome, but at least the possibility is there."

Carlisle turned that over in his mind then nodded and continued. "Very well, my second point would is, when you speak to Aro, would you tell him I would like to speak to him regarding all of this at his earliest convenience." Carlisle strode down the porch, both Jasper and Esme gave Eliza one last look. Esme's face still openly showing the hurt of Isabella's rejection while Jasper's face was less surprised and more thoughtful. Eliza watched the three of them speed away toward their own house, before she turned and went back in.

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"What in God's name is that horrible stench?" Rosalie exclaimed the second Carlisle, Esme and Jasper walked in the door. Emmett had turned from the television to look at them as well, and the expression on his face made it clear… they smelled.

"You smell like the mutts at La Push." Rosalie continued, her eyes narrowing at them, "What have you been doing?"

Carlisle looked around, partially ignoring the question. "Where is everyone? I'm calling a family meeting right now."

"They all went hunting briefly after school, we were waiting on you to get back. Adara said Jasper texted her and told her you guys were dealing with something." Emmett explained as Rosalie went to the windows and opened them one at a time. Just then the door behind Carlisle opened, and in walked Alice, followed by Edward and Adara.

Adara was the first to speak up, "We were out hunting and Alice had a vision saying that you wanted to have a family meeting. Why do you smell like you've been snuggling the wolves at La Push?"

Carlisle gestured around for everyone to get comfortable. Alice sat down in a chair lightly, Adara moved to sit down next to Jasper. She crinkled her nose in protest, before settling in close to his side without protest, clearly abiding the odor. Rosalie sat back down on the couch, with Emmett behind her. Edward sat on the opposite end of the couch.

Carlisle coughed then straightened to his full height.

"Okay, there are several things you need to be aware of. Firstly, to answer your question. We smell like wolves because we were just dealing with the pack. Two of their members are very gravely injured and needed medical assistance. My first thought was that a semi truck had rolled over them or something they were in such bad shape." He looked around, glad he had the family's attention without interruption for the moment.

"Esme and I set the broken bones, there were many. If they had been human they'd both be dead. Then we found out what happened. It seems the attacks in Seattle and in other cities we've been watching the past few months are not being done by vampires, or at least not vampires alone. The attackers are vampires and wolf shifters, ones unknown to the Quileutes of La Push, working together."

Edward scowled, speaking up immediately, "What would cause the wolves to work with vampires, and why would you contact Jasper from school to join you?" He was mistrustful of the wolves after they requested he not be at their last meeting, and his animosity showed.

Jasper spoke. "Carlisle didn't contact me, I contacted him. Eliza grabbed me at school, said it was an emergency, and to get Carlisle because two of the wolves were hurt badly. She was rather desperate, and offered up a favor from the Volturi in return." That comment elicited some raised eyebrows from the family, but Jasper continued. "I declined the favor."

"Why would you do that? You know how rarely Volturi give favors out. If she is a member of the Volturi, they would be obliged to help us if we ever need anything." Rosalie demanded, her eyes narrowed in something closely mirroring suspicion.

"First, Carlisle would have objected. He has never failed to care for someone in need, no matter whom or what they are. Secondly, I hoped that by not making them owe us something, the gratitude and good will would mean more." Jasper explained, his voice calm and mild, Carlisle nodding in agreement.

"The other piece of information we got today, this vampire Eliza _is_ a member of the Volturi and she is not alone. She has one other vampire with her." Carlisle looked everyone over "It's Bella."

The silence was total as each member of the family who wasn't present earlier digested the news slowly. Rosalie's surprise melted away to a scowl at the mention of the girl. Emmett's surprise was replaced by an excited grin. Adara looked relatively unsurprised, she was the only member who had never met Bella.

Jasper's eyes remained on Alice, her expression absolutely shocked, a look of hope ghosting faintly over her face briefly for the first time in years.

Edward's expression went from shock to grinning widely, and he was first to respond. "Bella? My Bella? She's alive? She's one of us? I have to go see her!" He looked as if he were ready to do just that.

Carlisle held up his hand, "Wait, before any of you go anywhere. They're still recovering from what happened today. Eliza said that Bella would probably be at school tomorrow though she didn't promise it. Bella's... different."

Edward frowned, but it was Alice who spoke up, her voice filled with concern and that glimmer of hope. "What do you mean? How is she different?"

It was Esme who responded, her voice filled with the hurt she'd been unable to express earlier. "She's very... cold. I don't know what happened to her, maybe it was us, maybe us leaving changed her."

Everyone save Carlisle, Rosalie and Adara cast withering glances towards Edward, which he pretended to be ignorant of as Esme continued, "Maybe it was something else… but she's different."

"How did she get involved with the Volturi?" Alice asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

Carlisle shrugged, "I plan to ask that myself when I call Aro. I don't know how that came about, but I'm very interested in finding out."

"I can't believe she's alive... this... this is wonderful news!" Edward had a genuinely excited look on his face, too excited to notice or care that some of the rest of his siblings didn't share his excitement. He didn't notice the glare that Rosalie shot his way, or the look of anger on Alice's face, much less read the thoughts flitting through their mind.

Rosalie finally looked over at Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper "I'm sure this topic will come up again, but I don't think anything further can be determined now. I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one, would be grateful if the three of you would go shower and change clothes to get that horrible stench of dog off of you."

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"Are you okay?" Jasper's voice floated up to her.

Alice was several miles out in the forest ,perched high in the branches of a tree. She sat with her back to the trunk. The clouds from the earlier rain were clearing. It was rare to see the stars in the night sky, so she was watching the clouds move. She'd known Jasper was coming, and she'd known he would find her.

She looked down. He was at the base of her tree, looking up at her. His eyebrow was raised, obviously waiting to see if she was going to come down. After a few moments had passed, Jasper sighed and leaped up and into the tree, climbing quickly to settle on a branch that was about a foot lower than the one she was on. He straddled it and rested his back against the trunk as well so that they were both facing away from the trunk, albeit at a right angle to one another. "Are you going to make me ask again?" He inquired gently.

Alice sighed, one of her hands sliding through her short spiky hair. "I don't know. Can't you tell how I'm feeling?".

Jasper shook his head, "Your emotions are confusing, mixed, shock, excitement, anger, happiness, sadness, confusion. I have no idea what you're thinking. I'm not Edward, and you're not as easy to read as Edward is."

Alice raised an eyebrow, "Oh and you know what's going through Edward's mind?"

Jasper snorted, "Edward is easy to read, full of excitement, hope and expectation. I tried to talk to him after my shower. He thinks this is fate. It was all I could do to keep him from charging off to see her tonight. I told him that the wolves of La Push were on edge and since they were there, they'd likely attack first and ask questions later."

Alice sighed softly as Jasper continued. "He has convinced himself that Bella is avoiding him because she needed to concentrate on the stuff for the Volturi and she didn't want to be distracted. He fully expects her to run into his arms the first time she lays eyes on him. He won't listen to me when I suggest otherwise. He's very certain of himself. I haven't felt him this excited… in a very long time."

Jasper murmured softly, "Tell me what you're thinking?"

Alice tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "I am having trouble knowing what to think. You know that being able to see the future kind of ruins any chance of surprises. But I didn't see this. I still can't see her, or Eliza, and I don't know why."

Alice opened her eyes with a sigh looking at the sky, "Part of me is so excited that she's alive, she's not only alive but one of us. To know that she survived after we left… I'm so relieved. I never went to look, because I was scared that my visions going dark meant that she had died. I'm sad because she's been alive all this time, and I didn't know. I'm angry at Edward. I can't help but wonder what she went through since then. I'm confused about it all. What happened to her? Did she track down another vampire to change her? How does that… Eliza fit in to all of this?"

Alice suddenly turned her head towards Jasper, "You've seen her. How is she different? What is she like?" She asked suddenly, it was clear she _needed_ to know.

Jasper considered this, he knew better than to ask if she really wanted to know the answers, "I only had a few interactions with her, and mostly it was just observing her emotional state and how she interacted with others." Alice nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement before he continued.

"One thing I will tell you that hasn't changed is she's stubborn. When I first saw her she was badly hurt but carrying two of the Quileutes on her shoulders. The pain must have been horrible but she didn't show it at all. She's… harder than she was before. I mean beyond physically, there's a definite edge to her that wasn't there before. There's a new level of self confidence. She knows exactly what she is and isn't capable of." Jasper looked thoughtful and added, "And I would say she's capable of a lot."

"I got only a few hints of emotion from her. That shield she had that blocked Edwards telepathy must be stronger as a vampire. I only got small indicators, when her emotions were particularly strong or close to the surface. She was very angry, especially at the mention of this ancient vampire, this 'Joham'. That sort of anger is deep and personal, and both Bella and Eliza feel it. They _hate_ him. I'm not sure I've felt hatred so deep before." Jasper shuddered slightly at the emotions that he'd felt for a few brief seconds.

"When things had calmed down enough for Carlisle and Esme to talk to her, she was very cold and distant. Esme thinks something or someone has made this way. I'm not sure. She was very clear she appreciated our help but that we were doing them a favor and one would be owed to us in return. She was adamant she doesn't feel like we deserve the rights of family or friends. There was a strong flash of anger there, but it was different than the anger directed at Joham." Jasper trailed off as he frowned thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, how was it different?" Alice asked, prompting him.

"It was colder, more filled with resentment than anything." Jasper said, spreading his hands wide in a helpless gesture when Alice's expression said that explanation wasn't enough.

Alice hesitated as she looked down, staring at the ground through the branches of the tree. "Was there anything good you felt in her? Anything positive?" Jasper's response was silence for several seconds. Alice looked down at him and her eyes narrowed, "Tell me, I want to know."

"There were positive emotions just once when she was with Eliza. There's a lot of love there. But it's confusing." He didn't wait for Alice to pose the question as he continued. "While I was there Eliza explained that she and Isabella share a deep bond of some sort. They can share powers through this bond that they have. I don't understand the connection, but it obviously causes their emotions to bleed together at times."

Alice hesitated her eyes downcast and then asked very quietly. "Are… they mates?"

Jasper felt Alice's overwhelming sorrow at the thought of that, and his reply was measured. "I don't know, that's the honest truth. There were so many emotions going on when we were there that I had trouble sorting them out."

Alice barely nodded, his answer relieving her sorrow in a small way.

Jasper looked around, and then stood up easily on the branch. "I'm going back to the house. Do you want to join me?"

Alice shook her head. "I need to get myself under control. Edward may be preoccupied, but right now he would hear all my thoughts. I don't think that would go over well. I need a few hours. Tell them I'm hunting if they ask."

Jasper nodded and hopped down to the ground before he turning to murmur quietly to Alice. "I will tell you one more thing. Do not make the mistake of assuming you know this Bella. She's different in so many ways. Edward can't see that. He may well be a fool. I don't know how that's going to go tomorrow. She loved him. I don't know what feelings still exist there. But… I know the rest of us are starting from square one with her. Less than if her actions are indicative of her true feelings. Take it for what it's worth." Without another word, Jasper left Alice alone with her thoughts.

Alice looked up at the sky, hearing the faint sounds of Jasper moved away. She closed her eyes and for the first time in a long time thought of Bella, only of her.

She thought back to the first time she glanced at the girl in the cafeteria. For just one moment in her mind, she saw a glimpse of the future. She saw a smattering of images. She Isabella's arms wrapped around her from behind in a comfortable embrace. She saw the two of them walking hand in hand smiling at one another. She saw an image of the two of them in a bed, black sheets tangled around their pale bare bodies. She saw the two of them in the forest chasing each other. In every one of the images, she had seen Bella as a vampire. And in every one of the visions they were both deliriously happy.

But then... Edward, Edward had taken one look at the girl and realized he couldn't read her. And her scent, which Alice knew was intoxicating, drove him wild. In that one moment, despite his later claiming that he tried to fight it, he'd made the decision that he wanted Isabella.

That decision was all it took to shatter the vision. She left the cafeteria first that day, keeping her mind carefully blank, so Edward would never know. Even if he had thought to look while he was so intent on reading the new girl. Alice skipped her last class, going so far as to head into the forest to weep at the loss of the future she had seen so briefly.

She never let anyone know what she had seen. When Bella returned Edward's affection she made sure to think of being nothing but the friendly sister, and best friend. She had gotten as close as possible to Bella without ever showing her true feelings. She made sure to focus her thoughts almost exclusively on shopping and parties whenever Edward was around. After all, it was what he expected from her, he never gave it a second thought.

It was impossible to hide her feelings from Jasper though. However, he knew as well as Alice did, that the two of them weren't true mates and he never would have stood in the way.

Her times with Isabella were both the best and worst of her life. She got to spend time with Bella, get to know her, be near her. They went on shopping trips together almost weekly, despite Isabella's protests. But it was time to be away from Edward. Alice was amazed at times how touchy feely Bella let her be. Whenever they were together they almost inevitably held hands. They would snuggle close together watching television or when they had the privacy and were just talking.

At the same time, it was torturous for her, because Alice could never let it slip that she felt anything more than friendship the dark haired human who owned her heart.

Alice had thought Isabella lost to her for so long. The knowledge that she was alive, it was as if a bomb went, off destroying all of the walls Alice had laboriously erected to protect her secret.

Isabella was alive!

Alice wanted see her immediately. Yearned to see her. It was the one thing Alice couldn't blame Edward for wanting. Alice wanted to throw herself at Bella's feet, apologize and do whatever it took to show her how sorry she was, how wrong she'd been. She wanted to wrap her arms around Bella and never ever let her go.

Alice knew instinctively that it wouldn't be as easy as that. She wondered how Eliza fit in. The resemblance to Bella was astounding. Jasper said that the two were bonded. Alice felt so selfish for just a moment when she'd been unable to stop herself from asking if they were mates. But she couldn't help herself.

The one conversation she'd had with the girl earlier in the day had been surprising. She hadn't expected anyone to read her like that. Her family certainly hadn't, she was sure they would've mentioned it. Though Alice thought Esme might be beginning to suspect something given the way she'd been watching her more closely of late.

But one question from Eliza and she'd spilled her secrets. Eliza seemed shocked by the outpouring. At the time Alice assumed it was because of her loss of control. But after hearing the news tonight about Bella, Alice realized that Eliza must have known exactly who she was talking about.

What did that mean, and who was Eliza to Isabella? Alice didn't know, but in spite of her maelstrom of emotions one thought kept recurring.

Isabella was alive!

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**Author's notes:**

**1)WHEW this was a HARD chapter. I hope you all liked it. This chapter was really hard for me. I had it all written out and to cut off where we did was another 4k words or so. And DarkBella says to me. "Um. Yeah. you have things in there that just don't work" and i was resistant at first. But she was patient in explaining and putting up with me being a bitch. In the end we ended up moving those sections to better places later in the story where they FIT. I'm much happier with the chapter where it is now than where it started**

**The other thing this chapter required was partial rewrites of scenes. Because i gave lines to certain characters that just didn't fit their personality and gave a different impression than I wanted. Again DarkBella was amazing in pointing this out and working with me to keep what i envisioned at the same time making sure i stayed true to the characters personalities as we'd previously established them****. I'm eternally grateful for that. (seriously it would have irritated the hell out of me later) **

**This chapter more than any before she really deserves the Co-Author credit. (At times *I* was the beta and she was the author ^_^ and I couldn't be happier with the results.) **

**2)The first of Bella and the Cullens began in this chapter and will continue in the next few chapters. That means that BELLICE will begin soon. But like i have warned you. do NOT expect fast. **

**3) DarkBella's Author's notes: I worked my ass off on this. **

**4) She really did. **

**5) Please read and review. Let us know what you liked and what you hated from the chapter. I *LIKE* reading the reviews to find out what people are enjoying and what they're not so much. **


	20. Dismemberment, Defenestration, Sporks

_**Chapter 20**_

_**"I can't believe you're making me do this."**_ Isabella grumbled to her daughter through their mental link. She was on her motorcycle, following her daughter to school, having a conversation this way was far easier than shouting as they rode to high school.

The rest of the previous evening had gone well; rather there hadn't been any major issues. Isabella had spent most of the night in the Batcave with Henry checking news reports, searching for suspicious events locally and regionally.

Eliza had divided her time between visiting the two convalescing wolves, during the very brief spurts they were conscious and spending time with Leah on the couch talking and watching TV. When Rachel began to get tired, Eliza offered her a bed, but Rachel wanted to be close by if Paul regained consciousness again at any point in the night. That was a request that Eliza could hardly refuse, so they moved a mattress, blankets and pillows into the room right next to his bed.

Leah fell asleep on the couch shortly thereafter, not needing to be in the same room as her brother when he woke up, but still wanting to be close by. Once Leah had drifted off, Eliza spent the remainder of the night, and into the morning, pestering her mother about going to school with her.

What ultimately decided the matter was Eliza's almost offhand comment, that if Isabella hadn't gone to school the next day then, now that the Cullen's were aware of her, they would think she was too nervous to face them.

So it was that at 7:40, Isabella found herself following her daughter's dark purple motorcycle with her larger red one to the high school. After applying the eye drops to camouflage her red eyes, and turn them brown again; her daughter and she had spent half an hour arguing over clothing choices, before Isabella had largely prevailed wearing black jeans, a dark blue top with a slight v cut, a dark jacket and utility boots. Eliza's outfit was lighter, with blue jeans, though her top was black, with short sleeves and a slightly deeper v-neck cut. She also wore black utility boots and a dark jacket for riding in the cool weather, largely for appearances.

They also currently both sported black helmets and gloves when they pulled into the parking lot of school. It was a repeat of Eliza's first day for both of them; people's head's turning when they heard the heavy thrum of Isabella's motorcycle.

_**"Oh dear, **__**here we go." **_Isabella sighed in her daughter's thoughts as they pulled into the parking lot.

_**"Oh please, if you didn't want to draw any attention to yourself we could have driven Henry's Toyota Corolla." **_Eliza mentally teased her mother.

_**"Meh, I don't much care about the students. I meant THEM." **_Isabella replied as they slowed pulling into the parking lot proper.

Eliza sighed, she saw the Cullen's all standing outside their jeep, in its normal place. Well, all but one. She saw Edward standing over where he had been two days prior. _**"Please remember Mother, no losing your cool."**_

_**"Don't worry. I've decided to do what will irritate them most. I'm going to ignore them. Nothing will piss them off more. Especially HIM." **_Isabella replied to her daughter keeping her snarl in check as she got close to Edward, her eyes taking him in 's eyes had narrowed slightly seeing the motorcycle but his smile was still a self-confident crooked grin as he stared at the rider.

_**"Please try and remember, no 'Mother" here, just Isabella." **_Isabella pulled her motorcycle up next to her daughter's and killed the engine.

_**"Yes, Isabella." **_Eliza's voice replied teasingly, as she took off her gloves and helmet, sliding off her bike. **"**_**As long as you remember… no public dismemberment. Though it might make us slightly more popular around here, high school being what it is, I doubt it would be a good thing in the long run."**_

Isabella took off her gloves and helmet, looking over at Eliza as she did, she genuinely laughed. "I think that's been more your territory than mine if I recall correctly." She didn't even spare Edward a glance as she dismounted her motorcycle then followed Eliza toward the school. Edward frowned slightly and took a step forward, as if he thought she might not have seen him, opening his arms slightly as if offering Isabella an embrace.

"That happened ONE time." Eliza retorted, her amusement as much about Edward's reaction as it was to the comment.

"It happened twice." Isabella said, not once glancing at Edward or the Cullens as she followed her daughter toward the school.

"I hope you don't mean Ibiza! That was in a club, and they all thought it was just a statue. It doesn't count." Eliza replied haughtily

"In front of 100 people, on stage, I don't think it gets much more public than that. You're just lucky everyone was plastered, and were more concerned with the band setting their instruments on fire. Otherwise there could have been trouble!" Isabella retorted, following her daughter into the school. As they approached the door, they both heard Edward call out "Bella!" when it sunk in that she wasn't coming to him; they both completely ignored it.

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Eliza led Isabella to the office, which was hardly necessary since it was in the same place that it had been nearly a century ago when she'd originally come to the school.

When they arrived the same secretary Eliza had met before greeted them with a pleasant smile, and she winked at Eliza. "This must be your sister, Isabella. Does she bite too?"

The secretary grinned as she slid a schedule across to Isabella, failing to notice Isabella's stunned expression before Eliza replied, "Oh yes, sometimes worse than I do!" Which made the secretary giggle before making sure Isabella had her schedule and sent her on her way.

When they left, Isabella glared at Eliza, and Eliza just grinned, guiding them to their lockers. Isabella's was right next to Eliza's which was convenient, and they deposited helmets, gloves then Eliza hung up her jacket. "Relax, it was just a joke, she told me to be careful but no one bites, and I said it was okay, sometimes I do. Now do you think you can find your way to your first class or do you need me to guide you?"

Isabella laughed, Eliza had given her mother replays of her school days the night before, so she was relatively familiar with the layout and the same people her daughter was. "I'm sure I'll be fine. My first class is English. So I'm on the second floor. If we don't have class together again until lunch, meet back here right before?"

"See you then!" Eliza nodded and then spun on her heels to head to her class, a little skip in her step.

Isabella watched her go for several long moments, well aware of the stares she was receiving from several students along the hallway. She was surprised that none of them had found the courage to approach her. When she turned around to head to the stairs, she found out why, as she came face to face with Edward Cullen.

He stepped too close, entering her personal space, and Isabella froze in shock. Edward seemed to misinterpret her reaction because he smiled that lopsided grin that had once made Isabella go weak in the knees. He murmured softly, "It really is you… My Bella," and reached his hand out to brush his fingers over her cheek.

Just before his fingers made contact with her cheek, Isabella recovered from her momentary shock, her hand snapped up and encircled Edward's wrist in a crushing grip, scowling at him. She half snarled, half hissed in a voice too low for anyone to overhear. "My name is Isabella. It's been a very long time since I was your _anything._ And if you ever think of touching me again, make sure it's with a body part you're willing to part with." She increased the strength of the grip on his wrist until he flinched and tugged his arm back instinctively. She waited just an extra second and then she released it.

Edward's reacted with utter shock, as he stared at first his arm and then at her, horror crossing his features. "Bella… Thi… this isn't you! What did the Volturi do to you?"

Isabella blinked, a look of pure amazement crossing her face before sneering at his sickeningly pretty visage. "You are a fool, sublimely arrogant in your ignorance. Life does not stop and start at your convenience you miserable bastard. I know pain; I know it so well it's become a part of me; my most faithful companion. Come near me again and I'll share my knowledge of it with… you. You won't like that… at all. I'll hurt you in ways you cannot even begin to imagine." Her eyes were black as night, despite her camouflage, hinting at the agonizing truth of her words.

She stepped around him brusquely, leaving him slack-jawed and stunned, standing in the middle of the hallway. She climbed the stairs and strode to her English class. There was something so … ridiculous about him trying to blame everything that happened on the Volturi, it took all her self control not to rip his arm off on the spot.

She arrived in front of class, taking a moment to compose herself before entering the classroom. The teacher looked up in surprise as Isabella handed her the slip the secretary had given her for the teachers to sign. "Oh, you're Isabella I…I…Irutlov? Did I say that right?"

Isabella nodded as she took the slip of paper back, along with the book the teacher handed her. "That's right."

"Well, go ahead and find a seat, you can take a couple days to get caught up with the readings." She glanced at the slightly weathered textbook then she turned to find a seat. She felt the eyes of every student in the room on her as she glanced around. Unfortunately the room was nearly full and there was only one seat available, near the back.

Isabella rolled her eyes slightly as she made her way back to the seat**. **_**"How apropos, my first class and the only seat available is next to Rosalie Cullen." **_She thought to her daughter who was on the other side of the school in another classroom.

_**"Well look at it this way, after you managed not to rip Edward into small chunks, Rosalie should be easy." **_Eliza's voice snickered back in her mind, as Isabella took a seat next to Rosalie, who glared at her as she came to sit down then turned her head away.

When Rosalie didn't speak up, the student ahead of Isabella turned in his seat and held out his hand, with a pleasant smile. "Hi there, I'm Samuel, welcome to Forks High."

Isabella hesitated only a second before smiling and shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Isabella."

He nodded and looked slightly guilty. "I know, pretty much the entire school saw you and your sister get here this morning."

Isabella grinned and shrugged, "Well, we have to get to school somehow." Samuel grinned and laughed, but more conversation was cut off as the teacher stood up to begin to discussing the previous evening's reading material.

Isabella contented herself with idly doodling on a notebook, drawing little eyes in the margins. Finally the teacher spoke up and announced they would be partnering up to discuss the reading selection and its' themes. The professor looked at Isabella and smiled, "Miss… Irutlov you and Miss Rosalie Hale can work together. She knows this material very well, she ought to be able to help you along."

Isabella rolled her eyes and shifted her desk slightly closer to Rosalie's in an effort to make it look as if they were working together. Rosalie did the same, it wasn't until the teacher looked like he may walk over to investigate the lack of speech between the two that Rosalie finally spoke up, her voice a murmur too soft for anyone close enough to hear, she still managed to keep her voice haughty. "So Bella, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Isabella quirked an eyebrow up in challenge, and decided to feign ignorance. "The name is Isabella, and for what? You don't have to catch me up on the reading. Romeo and Juliet has been read and critiqued as much as any document in history, I seriously doubt that you and I are going to produce any earth shaking new insights."

"You know that's not what I mean; you're one of us now." Rosalie seemed blithely ignorant of Isabella's bon motte, her tone challenging.

"Your grasp of the obvious is truly awe inspiring." Isabella retorted dryly. "With a keen mind like that you might have a future as a meteorologist… so long as there's an open window nearby."

Rosalie blinked, caught off guard. She hadn't expected the sharp response, and her own response was off balance. "Okay, well... how did it happen?"

Isabella moved her lips up into something that wasn't quite a smile, but it was enough to make Rosalie shiver slightly. "A magical fairie appeared and covered me with magical dust then told me to think happy thoughts. Well I was an epic fail so far as happy thoughts went and when I actually did manage to get a few feet off the ground, the first thing I did was fly headfirst into a tree. She decided flying wasn't for me, so a little bippity, boppity, boo and here I am."

Rosalie scowled at Isabella, and sneered "I'm asking a genuine question, there's no need to be snotty about it."

Isabella looked up and met Rosalie's amber eyes with her own dark brown ones. "Well, you would certainly be the authority in regards to being snotty, wouldn't you? Actually, you always perplexed me Rosalie. Normally someone as narcissistic and self-absorbed as you tends to make up for it with something positive… like a sense of humor."

Rosalie blinked in surprise, this was not the Bella that Rosalie remembered, and she wasn't quite sure how to respond. There were several minutes of silence between the two. The bell was about to ring when Rosalie spoke again. "You've been in the area for several days, known we were here and weren't considerate enough think it merited a visit out of courtesy?" Rosalie's golden eyes narrowed and met Isabella's brown ones.

The bell signaling the end of class rang before she could reply. Isabella stood up and then leaned over Rosalie's desk, bringing them eye to eye, mere inches between their faces. "You're right of course! I should have treated you with the same consideration and courtesy that you've always treated me with Rosalie... oh wait... that's right... you've not been considerate or courteous to me since the day we met. I'm far too delicate to describe how you've always treated others Rosalie, but it rhymes with witch." Isabella's voice was filled with sarcasm as she smirked, spun on her heel and walked out of the classroom, a surprised Rosalie staring after her as she left.

_**"I have to admit, that was a little bit cathartic." **_Isabella replayed the conversation for her daughter as she entered the hallway, glancing at her schedule as she went to her next class. Her daughter laughed in her thoughts.

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"Carlisle Cullen! My good friend, how are you?" Aro's voice attempted to project warmth but seemed to cross the line into creepiness, even via phone.

Carlisle had called several times to speak to Aro and he had been otherwise occupied. Aro had finally returned the call the next day.

"Hello Aro, I seem to be faring well. How are you?" Carlisle replied reclining in his office chair. He desperately wanted to get right to his questions, but knew it was better to display proper courtesy and decorum. Conversations with the Volturi always remained polite, a careless word could be remembered for decades or longer until they chose the appropriate time to return the impertinence; usually at the most inopportune of moments.

"I am doing well my friend. We've been a bit busy of late, as I know you've heard. Eliza tells me that you're now aware of the situation in the area, and that you know to be on your guard. But my coven is doing well. How about your coven? How does your clan fare?" Aro replied

"We are well. As you no doubt know, we've just settled back in Forks for a bit. But your family is actually part of why I was calling. I ran into some of the… newer members of your coven today. I had no idea you'd expanded your family." Carlisle replied a faint note of disappointment in his voice

"Well, it has been so long since you've visited, we've hardly had time to catch up, and you almost never call just to chat or anything." Aro's voice held disappointment of his own.

"Jasper visited you some 25 years ago to introduce you to our newest family member; you mentioned nothing about it then." Carlisle countered lightly.

"Ah yes, dear Adara, quite the addition for your family and for Jasper. Yet another convert to your rather… esoteric dietary lifestyle. Ah well. Anyway it didn't come up in our conversations, and the two of them didn't stay long enough to enjoy our hospitality." Aro said, disappointment in his voice once again.

"You didn't think to bring up that one of the new members of your family had a history with my family? I'm sure that you knew of the history." Carlisle asked, careful to keep his voice placid and not accusatory.

"Of course of course. Though it was a story she was reluctant to share. Her gift confounded mine just as it does your Edward's." Aro chuckled in an amused tone.

"You didn't answer my question." Carlisle gently reminded him.

"Oh, quite right, You'll pardon me; you know how I get distracted sometimes. Well, in this case the new addition went unmentioned deliberately. She specifically requested her presence not be made known to your family. At that point she had already become one of us, and I saw no reason to deny this personal request. Besides, your Edward decided she wasn't good enough for him, and your family obviously agreed, clearly she was of negligible value to you." Aro said, his voice calm, with a faint trace of smugness.

"We didn't abandon her. After a run in with another vampire, my son decided it was better if she had a chance to live her own life rather than being in danger because of our presence. Our family agreed, albeit some of us reluctantly. So we left the area." Carlisle said with a frown on his face.

"Ah, well my friend, you know what they say about the best of intentions and regrets." Aro said, his voice filled with sympathy and compassion, Carlisle was certain it was feigned.

"Quite so. I'll admit that I'm quite curious how you discovered her? While I admit her abilities are unique, usually you spend years determining whether or not to convert a human who has interested you. I'm even more curious as to how Eliza comes into play in this." Carlisle asked, as close to bluntly as possible.

Aro's voice hesitated, and he was thoughtful as he replied. "Ah… I see. Well you're aware of Isabella's presence, however if my daughter hasn't chosen to share her own story with you, than I shall honor her privacy, except to say she is likely to be in the area for some time. I mentioned to Eliza that your assistance in the matter today should go a long way toward keeping relations cordial. She agreed, so you know how to get in contact with them."

Carlisle sighed inaudibly, he was aware he had run into a stone wall regarding his questioning so he tried a different tack, "I was surprised to find out that you had approved any sort of relationship with the Quileutes, much less an alliance with them. Circumstances must be unique indeed to warrant an alliance of that nature."

Aro coughed delicately "I will confess it came as a surprise to us too. Isabella chose to offer the alliance, which makes it her responsibility. It was unexpected, Isabella rarely makes rash decisions, and it's more something I would have expected from Eliza. Caius was most displeased with the idea. It took us several hours for us to get through the conversation without him snarling every thirty seconds. You know how he feels about wolves. However the alliance has been forged and we will honor it. It may come to pass the alliance will provide insight into these disruptive attacks in so many places."

Carlisle frowned, noting the implied dismissal, "As this directly effects my family, can I trust that we'll be kept apprised of any developments?" Carlisle asked.

There was a pause before Aro replied thoughtfully, "I will instruct Isabella and Eliza to make sure that you are kept up on any developments that could directly impact you."

"Thank you, Aro." Carlisle said, sighing audibly, knowing that was the best he was going to get.

"Anytime my friend. I hope that circumstances will allow me to see you again sometime in the near future. I have missed your company. Be well." Aro said his voice pleasant before he ended the call.

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The rest of Isabella's morning classes went smoothly. She attended class, miraculously avoiding any more Cullens in her schedule. She met Brittanee and Jessica in her second period class, the two of them introduced themselves with "Hey, I'm Jessica and this is Brittanee spelled with two e's" as if Isabella should know who they were. Isabella was polite, but the two of them proceeded to dominate the entire conversation, preventing anyone else in the class from making introductions as they monopolized her time. It took Isabella all of two minutes to decide she detested them.

_**"Eliza, if you plan on sitting with me at lunch; you may have to reconsider your choice of tables." **_Isabella thought to her daughter as the teacher put in a movie to watch.

_**"Not that I'm terribly disappointed; but why?" **_Eliza answered.

_**"I have just had the pleasure of meeting 'Jessica and Brittanee with two e's'" **_Isabella replied dryly.

Eliza's response was laughter in her thoughts, _**"That's nothing; you haven't met Jennifer or Kevin. Those two make the airhead brigade seem downright cerebral."**_

_**"I thought my biggest challenge coming to school with you would be not to go nuts and try and rip the Cullens to shreds. I'm doing really well in that regard, but I swear if I have to sit at a table with those two bimbos, I'm going to stab one of them in the throat with a plastic spork." **_Isabella replied, her daughter giggled. Isabella managed to escape them after class, thankful to be going a different direction.

Isabella was relieved three class periods later, leaning against her locker, putting the books she doubted she'd ever use again away; waiting for Eliza.

"Hey! How were your morning classes?" Eliza's bright voice asked.

Isabella sighed and rolled her eyes, "Pretty much what I expected. A lot of repeat stuff and you already know the interesting parts. A lot of people asked if we're twins or something."

Eliza rolled her eyes and nodded. "I know, I got that question about ten times. Kevin even decided it would be amusing to make a joke about a threesome." Eliza made an icky face.

Isabella sighed and shook her head, "Seems like you've picked some winners to hang out with." She said sarcastically.

Eliza leaned against the locker beside her mother. "I didn't pick them, they picked me. I'm okay getting our own table at lunch."

"Good, because I would not have been as restrained as you were about Kevin's suggestion." Isabella said seriously.

"How do you know how restrained I was?" Eliza asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I didn't hear any desperate cries of fear, any shattering glass from a body being defenestrated, or ambulance sirens." Isabella replied, chuckling, showing she was exaggerating, if only slightly.

"Tempting, but I told you that dismemberment was not a good thing. I could hardly justify doing it myself. Besides he was just trying to get a reaction. C'mon, let's go to lunch." Eliza shrugged.

Isabella walked beside Eliza giving her a rundown of her classes and teachers, it turned out they had many of the same teachers, just teaching the same classes at different times. They both got in line and picked up trays to carry their food.

_**"I think these are the same trays they used when I was here the first time." **_Isabella thought to her daughter, who snickered audibly in response.

The two of them went through the line picking different foods at random, since they hadn't planned to eat them anyway. Isabella followed Eliza into the main cafeteria and several things happened at once.

Isabella was prepared for some staring at least from those who hadn't already gotten their first glance of them. Nearly everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at them. A new girl with a motorcycle was news.

All but one of the Cullen's looked at Bella with varying expressions. Rosalie frowned, rather than scowled as if she still couldn't quite figure Isabella out Adara's expression was curious, the girl provoked such strong reactions in so many of her family members. Emmett seemed pleased, he was happy to see Isabella again even if the rest of his family member's weren't as pleased about it. Jasper was the only member of the family who wasn't looking at them, he was watching the other members of his family carefully, most specifically Edward and Alice.

Edward's reaction was halfway between a scowl and a thoughtful smile as he looked at the pair. It was clear he was trying to figure out how to handle them, how to change his approach so he wouldn't be so casually and easily rebuffed. Alice's mood seemed conflicted, full of desperate relief and wonder, but combined with sorrow.

Both Eliza and Isabella saw all of this, but what drew their attention happened immediately after they entered, two female cries of shock followed by the smack of hands hitting the tile floor of the cafeteria.

Most everyone's attention was turned now to the table where Eliza usually sat, two girls sprawled headlong whom Eliza recognized as Hailey and an ash blond girl dressed up in gothic apparel. They had both been tripped by Kevin's purposefully outstretched leg. Their trays of food were partially on them and partially on the floor. Kevin and his entire table were laughing, which encouraged people at other tables to laugh.

Eliza felt the surge of anger in her mother as Isabella slowly walked toward the table. _**"Mother remember, no dismembering!"**_

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**_Author's notes._**

**_1) Yay new chapter!_**

**_2) I admit I have a bias against names like "Brittanee" because alot of times it seems like parents named their kid that just so that they could feel special in telling people about their child. "Oh my child's name is Kattie. Spelled with TWO t's." or "Jessicka with a ck" (or worse Jessykha) And yes it's totally a personal bias. I get that there are names that are naturally spelled differently. Sara and Sarah for example. Both perfectly acceptable. Katherine or Catherine. Again acceptable. (My mom was a moron. So. I'm totally not excusing her for this.) _**

**_The worst I've ever seen. (and i swear i thought this was made up at the time.) "La-a" Now I'm deaf. but i admit i was curious how a name like that was actually pronounced. So I asked my boss, (I work at the college I go to so i get weird names regularly) and she wrote it out for me. "La-a" = "La-DASH-ah" that's how you pronounce it. Seriously. _**

**_/end rant_**

**_3) The beginnings of the interactions with the Cullens. I hope you enjoyed the first "skirmish" with Edward. There will be more. He doesn't strike me as a fast learner._**

**_5) NEXT CHAPTER. I PROMISE. BELLICE INTERACTION. However temper your expectations. It will only be a small start. I did not write all this story just for them to be "hey haven't seen you in a century" "Yeah. I love you" "I love you too!" _**

**_6) Giving a shout out to two reviewers! _**

**_Apathicus- Who caught an error we'd made in a previous chapter. (Not a minor grammar or spelling error.) Eliza referred to Isabella as "Mom" in front of Jasper. That was a sooner reveal than I wanted. So I've corrected it in the previous chapter. _**

**_Samantha Minuet- Who remembered in the first twilight book during the initial cafeteria scene that Alice does indeed leave before the rest of the Cullens. A minor detail i was very proud of referencing and THRILLED someone recognized. _**

**_7) Lastly, thank you for reading and sticking with the story, I know it's slow in developing. I wanted something different and sometimes provide details that probably make people roll their eyes. But I'm very proud of this. I *MIGHT* be wrong. But i think we've set a record for longest time before Alice and Bella meet in story (at least in a bellice fic). 20 chapters 60k+ words_**

**_Please read and review. I do read them I do respond, and it makes me want to write more. _**

**_If every person following or favoriting this story took a few minutes to write a review. I'd probably double the amount of reviews i have, and would have some more ideas of what i'm doing well and what you want to see improved upon. _**


	21. The Message is You

_**-Chapter 21-**_

_**"I've got this. You help them." **_Isabella shot back, as she moved inexorably to the table, standing and glaring down at Kevin who was still in his seat.

Eliza sighed and stepped aside as Isabella passed, quickly joining the now mortified girls, who were still on their hands and knees. They were attempting to salvage and clean the mess the trays had made after Kevin tripped them. Eliza crouched down to help with the last few bits before offering the two a hand up.

Hailey accepted the help though she seemed surprised; the goth girl looked back and forth between Eliza's hand and her face several times as if trying to determine whether she was being tricked again. Finally she tentatively accepted the proffered help and let Eliza help her up. "No one should live in fear of random cruelty," Eliza thought, "but then, people are by far the cruelest of animals."

Eliza guided both girls to a table a safe distance from the brewing confrontation, and muttered "Stay here for a minute." before turning and heading back to where Isabella stood. Knowing her Mother's mind and thinking process so intimately, Eliza likened it to an approaching storm, the feeling was quite similar, that resigned conviction of knowing the best you could hope for was the storm left something besides devastation in it's wake.

Isabella glared down at Kevin, silently demanding an explanation. Kevin looked up at her with an insolent and unapologetic grin. "What do you want new girl? I slipped." He said, his voice sounded sarcastic without a hint of sincerity.

Isabella continued to stare daggers at him. In point of fact if looks could kill, he'd have been reduced to a puddle of curdled milk. A few seconds later he still hadn't shown any sign of remorse. "What? Oops. It was an accident." He said with a roll of his eyes, Isabella's stare making him feel the need to verbally puff his feathers.

Isabella scowled for another few seconds before she bent over. For a moment it looked like she was going to pick up one of the items the girls had spilled in the fall. Instead Isabella suddenly grabbed one of the legs of Kevin's chair and jerked it out from under him, flashing a grim smile as he toppled backwards. Isabella straightened up as he looked up in shock, but she wasn't finished. Isabella bent her arm at the elbow to lay her forearm on the table and then swept it forward, dumping the contents of Kevin's' tray upon him, covering him in his own lunch; drink and all.

There were several gasps from all around the room since the entire sequence of events took about five seconds. Silence descended as the entire student body gave up any pretense of ignoring the events. Isabella stood up straight and looked him in the eyes, and in the silence everyone heard her say "I guess I fucking slipped too."

It took Kevin several seconds to recover from the shock, but then he scrambled to his feet, stuttering "You.. you...! "

Isabella mimicked the same unapologetic and insolent grin he had shown her a few moments earlier. "What? Oops. It was an accident." She said mocking him deliberately, to be sure even someone of his obviously limited intellect understood.

He stepped forward, using his height and size advantage in an attempt to intimidate the smaller Isabella "You little bitch..."

Instead of being intimidated though, Isabella actually grinned up at him. "Taste of your own medicine not so pleasant?" she taunted him.

At this point his friends finally seemed to feel it was imperative they protect the honor of their leader. They scrambled to their feet to stand behind him in support.

_"__**Mother..." **_Eliza's voice warned in Isabella's head. Eliza wasn't particularly concerned with causing a scene and she certainly wasn't worried about her mother's safety. She was more concerned that in the heat of the moment, her mother would forget that they were just humans and end up putting a fist through someone's chest.

_**"If they jump in, feel free to help. You know I'm in no danger, but it might be a bit suspicious if I beat them all senseless single-handedly. But otherwise, don't interfere."**__ Isabella_'s voice responded flat and emotionless in Eliza's thoughts.

"I'm going to make you pay for this you fucking bitch." Kevin said.

"How?" Isabella challenged him and then she stepped forward, actually forcing Kevin to back up. "I'm not afraid of you. You're a pathetic coward."

As so often happened with him when thought failed to yield up any answers, an enraged Kevin resorted to violence.

Isabella saw the punch coming from a mile away. She hadn't really expected him to go this far when the confrontation began, so it was a surprise. But to someone with vampire reflexes, it was as if he'd phoned in his intentions. His fist swung forward, aiming for her jaw. For a vampire it was like watching a movie in slow motion, and Isabella idly counted to a thousand in her mind before she was forced to act. Isabella waited until just as she felt the fist begin to connect, to spin her head and upper body to the side. To Kevin and any non-vampire in the cafeteria, it looked all the world like he had just punched her in the face and the force had spun her around.

The cafeteria was absolutely still in silence. Occasionally a confrontation occurred in class or at lunch, but it was almost always just a heated exchange of words. Rarely did it devolve into outright blows. This was something altogether different.

Isabella slowly turned back, to face Kevin, her hand up on her jaw and she said, her voice ice cold. "Oh, I'm so glad you did that." And she swung her fist up into his stomach, not enough to permanently hurt him, but enough to knock the wind out of him.

Kevin doubled over with a gasp for a few seconds and then charged forward in an attempt to tackle her. Isabella had no room to maneuver out of the way so she rolled with his charge, twisting as he forced her to the floor and punching him in the left side, rewarded by the soft crack of a rib snapping. A sound she'd heard before, a sound which made her almost as happy as Kevin's ensuing, high pitched, scream did.

He rolled to one side, so Isabella rolled to the other side and got back to her feet; her arms down at her sides, clearly making no attempt to continue the confrontation. Kevin held his side grimacing in pain. Finally he looked to his friends. "What are you doing? Get her!"

Cameron and Jay each took a step forward, clearly intent on helping their leader. Neither of them got farther than a single step.

Jay gasped in surprise as his arm was grasped then twisted around and up behind his back. It was an iron grip he couldn't break and the more he struggled the more the arm twisted until he felt it was going to break. Turning his head he found himself looking down into the face of Eliza, who was scowling furiously. "I think it's better if you sit this one out." She said coldly.

Cameron was brought up just as sharply, as he suddenly felt a large muscular arm wrapped around his neck from behind in a simple and effective choke hold. Cameron's hands went up in a futile attempt to dislodge the arm from his throat, after several useless attempts, he turned his head and nearly swallowed his tongue.

He was being held by the only person in the school who was bigger than Kevin. Emmett Cullen's scowling face glared back at him, his top lip quivering in a sneer. Cameron immediately gave up all pretense of fighting back.

Isabella quickly glanced around the cafeteria and was stunned to see Rosalie staring at her with… something which looked a lot like approval. She dismissed her surprise as trivial and returned her attention to the matter at hand.

Seeing his two friends otherwise occupied, Kevin once more to charge Isabella. This time she stepped to the side at the last moment, grabbed his arm and flipped him in the air; in the same motion. It was the same move Eliza had used with Edward previously; albeit more slowly and with less force. The result was the same, Kevin ended up flat on his back, gasping.

Isabella knelt forward positioning her knee on his chest, just above his throat, pinning him easily. When she spoke her voice was clear and loud for everyone to hear. "You're nothing but a bully. Like all bullies, you're mostly talk. You've just been beaten up by a girl. Everyone here saw it. It ends now. You continue to try and bully anyone aside from me and everyone will know that you're doing it because you can't take me. If you pick on anyone else here ever again, then you will answer to me. You'll have to live as the boy who had his ass handed to him, over and over… by a girl."

When she received acknowledgement in Kevin's eyes, she slowly stood up. She turned to Eliza and nodded her head slightly. Eliza released Jay's arm, prompting a relieved gasp, followed by Emmett, who released Cameron a few seconds later with a scowl.

The two boys went to help their fallen comrade when Emmett spoke up. "Just to be clear. You mess with her, you mess with me." Kevin flinched hearing that, as he was helped gingerly to his feet, still holding his side.

The three of them left the lunch room, which remained in shocked silence. The sound of the ice machine next to the fountain drinks making a loud grinding noise as a freshman boy tried to get some ice sounded like a thunderclap in the room. All heads in the room turned to look in the direction of the sound. The boy blushed a bright red as if he'd just committed some great faux pas. Isabella rolled her eyes and shook her head. She completely ignored Emmett as she walked over to the table where Eliza had left Hailey and the goth girl.

Eliza hesitated a few moments and then smiled at Emmett pleasantly. "Thank you for the help. We... well I… appreciate it." She hesitated a moment before holding out her hand in an offer to shake.

Emmett smiled, caught off guard but pleased and reached out to take her hand. "No problem. I wasn't going to let her have all the fun." He said, glancing over at Isabella as Eliza shook his hand.

Eliza looked as if she were about to say more, but shook her head slightly, though her smile was still in place as she turned away to join Isabella at the table. Isabella hadn't said anything so Eliza broke the ice. "Hey Hailey, do you mind if we join you?"

Hailey looked at Eliza and blinked as if suddenly realizing where she was and then she shook her head and pointed at the seats across from her. "No no, please join us."

Eliza pulled out a chair and slid down in it, while Isabella pulled out another chair, spun it backwards and straddled it, crossing her arms and resting them on the back. Eliza smiled, "Hailey, you haven't met Isabella yet. Isabella, this is Hailey… and I'm sorry but we haven't been introduced." Eliza said to the ash blond girl, in black.

"It's nice to meet you." Hailey smiled and shook Isabella's outstretched hand before nudging her friend to do the same.

"Sorry, I'm Madison." the girl said quietly and glanced down, her eyes on her hands.

Hailey glanced over at the table where Jennifer, Brittanee and Jessica remained, glaring daggers at Isabella. "You know you didn't have to do that for us right?"

Isabella shrugged as if she didn't have a care in the world, "I don't like bullies. He's a bully. It would have happened sooner or later, I just figured it was better to address it immediately than let something like that pass. I'm sorry you two were the catalyst. Was it normal for him to pick on you or did you just happen to be a target of opportunity?"

Hailey frowned, her eyes sad and then looked down at the table a moment. "It's easy to pick on people that are different." She shrugged slowly, as if trying to indicate that it wasn't a big deal. "That was pretty normal for us. Madison stepped over his leg without breaking stride, but I wasn't thinking and he managed to trip me. Usually I'm better about avoiding it. We tend to be pretty popular targets."

Eliza and Isabella both tilted their heads curiously, though it was Eliza that spoke up. "What do you mean?"

Hailey took a breath and glanced around at the cafeteria. The buzz of chatter had finally started to pick up again, though it was all soft murmurs about what had just happened. Hailey swallowed, "I'm surprised no one has told you yet."

Isabella was tossing an apple back and forth between her hands, "What's the big secret? Are you two like… voodoo witches or something?" She winked as if they were all delighted co-conspirators.

Both Madison and Hailey blinked in surprise and stared at Isabella speechless before Eliza spoke up, rolling her eyes "She's kidding."

Hailey finally reached over and grabbed Madison's hand, intertwining their fingers together. "We're gay. And we're together, and if you want to save yourself from being social pariahs then it's generally best not to be associated with us."

Isabella and Eliza blinked, looked at each other, and then Eliza threw her head back and laughed while the more taciturn Isabella merely smirked. Hailey and Madison both looked at them as if they'd both sprouted a second head.

Eliza was the first to recover her composure though her response was broken up by giggles. "Isabella just beat up one of the 'cool kids'. I think becoming social pariahs is inevitable; I'm not sure the meter has been invented which could measure just how little we care.

Hailey glanced around before grinning at Isabella, "That was pretty awesome."

"As for the whole gay thing; let's just say you're not the only one with interests in that area." Eliza chuckled softly, looking somewhat self-conscious, though both Hailey and Madison raised their eyebrows to look at the pair of them.

"So if you're okay with company, we can totally be pariahs together." Isabella said, without the slightest bit of humor in her voice.

The rest of the table burst out in laughter at her earnest statement; laughter; uncaring of the attention they were getting.

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Isabella left the lunchroom amused; she'd spent the rest of lunch getting to know Hailey and Madison, and had to admit they were fun to talk to. Madison seemed much more stand-offish than Hailey did, but by the end of lunch even she had loosened up a little bit.

It wasn't until she was to her next class that she realized that, aside from a cursory glance at Rosalie, during the confrontation and following conversation she hadn't once thought about the reaction of the Cullen family to her presence. She had been surprised but inwardly pleased when Emmett had intervened in the fight to help her. She hadn't needed the help but his intervention made things a lot simpler. She simply didn't care about their reactions and to her that represented major improvement.

Isabella hurried slightly to the class she was most looking forward to, Art class. She entered the class room and handed the art teacher her slip. The teacher was a younger guy, probably just a year or two out of college who smiled pleasantly at Isabella and then gestured for her to take a seat.

Isabella sighed as she moved toward the back of the room. The room was set up with tables, two people to a table. _**"Of course there's only one table left to sit down at, and of course it has to have a Cullen."**_

_**"You'll be fine mother. Just keep your temper in check. Emmett wasn't so bad at lunch."**_ Eliza's voice replied, more seriously than normal.

Isabella didn't bother replying as she moved toward the empty space next to Alice Cullen.

Isabella didn't say anything to Alice as she approached, and only glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes. She looked as good as always. She wore a dark vest over a white button up shirt, to go along with a grey skirt, her dark hair still in the stylish, spiked cut she'd always favored.

Isabella remembered the acute, albeit mixed, feelings of envy and admiration she'd once felt about Alice's sense of style, composure and zest for life. That truly was another life she thought. It may even have been a better life, but it was gone now. Isabella took a deep breath. Her senses were more acute now. But Alice even smelled the same. The scent of cinnamon with a hint of lilacs When Isabella was human, she had never gotten up the courage to ask her whether it was a perfume or something else

Unlike Isabella, Alice had no compunction at all about watching every movement Isabella made. Alice openly stared as Isabella walked to the only vacant seat. Her expression of absolute attention even made Isabella feel a little self conscious, enough to cause her to shift in her seat.

After Isabella took her seat, the teacher handed out sketchbooks to the entire class, and Alice took one mechanically, her eyes never leaving Isabella.

Isabella took the sketch pad that was given to her and set it in front of her as the teacher explained they'd be attempting to sketch the fruit in the bowl. A rather simple exercise but one intended to kick off the next few weeks of art lessons. Alice didn't even bother to turn to and look at the bowl.

There were low murmurs around the class as people began talking quietly and drew. The teacher obviously didn't object. Isabella tried to focus on the fruit in front of her, and began to sketch light lines. She had intended just to ignore Alice, but finally couldn't take the prolonged stare any more. She turned and looked Alice full in the face, her dark brown eyes meeting Alice's amber ones.

"You could always take a picture they last longer." Isabella murmured, her voice, which had been filled with sarcasm, was softer than she intended as her eyes locked with Alice's.

"You're really here." Alice said, almost reverently. Her eyes met Isabella's, and she seemed confused by her eye color. She had brown eyes. But Alice could easily tell that Isabella wasn't wearing contacts and she didn't understand how it was possible. The question seemed irrelevant as she reveled in the proof that Isabella was alive.

Isabella opened her mouth to speak and memories resurfaced unbidden. Alice wrapping her arms around Isabella's waist and settling in under the crook of her arm. Alice tugging her along by her hand from store to store in the shopping mall, Isabella being dragged behind her, protesting half-heartedly. Alice talking to her. never watching the road as she drove, trusting her visions to warn her of any danger. Alice's laughter each time she managed to convince Bella to do something social or outlandish.

Those were just a few of a hundred memories that ran involuntarily her mind when she met Alice's eyes, along with unexpected emotions. The trust, the camaraderie, the feeling Isabella had felt, as if she had found someone closer than a sister. There was a time Isabella would have laid down her life without hesitation for any member of the Cullen family. Then the rush of hurt and betrayal that followed at being abandoned and the memories of what happened since. The conflicting emotions stunned Isabella. For nearly a century the only thing she'd felt towards any of the Cullens was hurt and anguish, then an icy rage, a cold hatred which had never gone away. It was akin to the small static shock one sometimes feels after walking upon carpet, a slight jolt which is impossible to ignore.

Alice's own memories flashed through her mind, as she looked at Isabella's face. A face which had haunted her thoughts. The face she thought lost to her forever. Alice remembered how often she'd watched that face from afar, wanting nothing more than to walk over and kiss her lips. But forcing herself to be content with being her best friend.

Alice's mind turned over and over just how many time their eyes had met and how often this simple, innocent act would make Bella to smile or grin, which in turn would make Alice smile. She looked for any hint of a smile on Bella's face. Any hope some these memories were shared. But Isabella's expression didn't even flicker. She waited for the expected frown of anger or sneer that might conceal injured feelings. Or the biting of a bottom lip that would mean she was hiding hurt. But Isabella's face showed nothing like that. Alice frowned in confusion, the expression that stayed on Bella's face was one of… boredom?

"Yes, I'm really here." She said blandly. She managed to keep her voice relatively uninterested and calm despite the storm of emotions raging through her as her eyes remained locked with Alice's, unwilling or unable to look away. She wasn't sure which. "I must say your entire family seems to have an amazingly firm grasp on the obvious." Isabella continued her voice almost thoughtful. One didn't get as far as Isabella had within the Machiavellian structure of the Volturi without a good poker face.

Alice flinched backward slightly at the utter indifference in Isabella's tone. Since she had found out Isabella was alive she expected many things. Alice expected Isabella to be angry, or hurt. She'd prepared herself for accusations, recriminations, or righteous indignation. What she wasn't prepared for was Isabella to sound apathetic, utterly without feeling for her. Alice didn't know how to react so she turned back to face the bowl of fruit. She stared at the bowl of fruit blinking regularly in an attempt to keep tears she couldn't even shed at bay.

Alice wondered if all of the years she'd spent missing Bella, all the years she pined for her, and hidden behind a smile, kept thinking happy thoughts, just to make things seem normal… was all a waste. She hadn't expected Isabella to just run to her and resume their old friendship. But… Alice had expected some sort of emotional reaction. Some sort of signal their relationship had meant something to the girl. Unless Bella's acting skills had improved by leaps and bounds over the years… it seemed like Isabella was utterly apathetic to Alice's presence. Nothing Isabella could have done at that moment could have hurt Alice more.

Isabella almost winced at the expression of naked hurt on Alice's face. She just thought of all the other things she had thought of saying in a moment like this, then truly wondered what someone _would_ say in a moment like this or there had ever _been_ a moment like this. Nothing seemed right. Isabella couldn't think of anything to say, especially since she had this… inexplicable urge to comfort Alice. Isabella worked half heartedly on her own drawing for a few minutes before she spoke up again.

"I noticed your family has a new member." She said, keeping her voice to a low murmur.

Alice hesitated and then nodded slowly. "That's Adara. She's... she's Jasper's mate." She said her voice dropping to a low whisper.

Isabella was genuinely surprised, enough for her to frown in confusion and turn to look back at Alice. "I thought he was your mate."

Alice hung her head and shook it lightly, not turning to meet Isabella's eyes. "No..." Alice hesitated before continuing, "We were always friends. We were lovers but we knew we weren't mates. Jasper found Adara about 50 or 60 years ago. They were practically made for each other."

Isabella frowned further, still confused. She had seen with her own eyes the closeness Adara had with Jasper but Jasper not being with Alice really threw her off and somehow pleased her in a way she dismissed as vindictiveness "So... you and he... broke up and you were okay with it?"

Alice shrugged as her hands halfheartedly sketched the fruit bowl. "Like I said, we were always friends. I wasn't going to try and stand between him and his mate. And Adara may be a bit sarcastic at times but she is sweet and they're a perfect match."

Before Isabella could stop the words from escaping her mouth she asked, "What about you?"

Alice shrugged again, this time the indifference about herself was genuine. "What about me? Jasper and I are still friends. We still care for one another; but he's with the right person now."

Isabella's brow furrowed even further, an inexplicable dread settling in her stomach, "No, I mean who are you with?"

Alice's lips turned up in a smile that was utterly without humor and reminded Isabella of something, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what, "No one, I don't have a mate. I gave up on that years before I lost Jasper."

Again with that strange static shock type feeling. Bella had been around very few humans and only the Volturi or vampires she intended to kill in the last 90 years, she decided she must be suffering a bit from acclimating all the new conditions which surrounded her now.

Isabella turned back to her sketch. Something about the entire conversation bothered her on a level that she hadn't thought possible. To Isabella there was something inherently _wrong_ with Alice being alone. The Alice that Isabella remembered practically lived to please other people, she practically glowed around a happy environment. She took more enjoyment out of doing things for others and just being with others than she did in doing anything for her own gratification. That Alice was happy and sparkling and laughing all the time, any time.

Isabella wondered what happened. This Alice was so completely different. This Alice was depressed and withdrawn. Isabella was certain of one thing, she was hurting, the type of hurt that takes years to fester and grow. The old Alice seemed to embrace life with an energy and excitement that was unparalleled and hard not to take part in. This Alice barely seemed to care. What was also shocking to her, a bolt from nowhere, for just an instant, just a millisecond was Isabella wondering what could be _done_ about it, before she forcibly thrust that thought from her mind. But it was Alice's eyes that struck Isabella the most. There was something off, and hauntingly familiar about them.

Isabella chewed on her bottom lip as she considered, trying to put her finger on what it was that bothered her so much about it all, before she realized that she had seen Alice's utterly apathetic, resigned expression only two times before in her life. When it clicked in her head, she was shocked she hadn't realized it earlier. She saw that same expression in the eyes of Marcus Volturi, though it extended to his face and voice as well. She mentally speculated whether Marcus had been that way before his wife, Didyme, was murdered.

Before Isabella could say anything, if indeed she had anything to say, the bell rang. Alice darted out of her seat, turning in her sketchbook without bothering to look or speak to the teacher, and was out the door before Isabella had a chance to say anything, her mind still racing.

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**Author's notes-**

**So. In what i'm sure no one was waiting for... Alice and Bella meet. **

***sarcasm* ^_^ **

**Once again, massive thanks to my Co-Author DarkBella! She keeps this rolling!**

**1) Firstly. I hate bullies. These are people who are cruel and belittle others and do their best to make their lives hell because it makes them feel a little bit better about their own miserable existences. Karma is a bitch. (Shout out to Ems724 on this one! You're not alone. *hugs* ) **

**2) I really really hope this didn't disappoint any of you for a first meeting. There's 100 years of history there it can't be resolved in one meeting or one interaction. I put alot of thought into this. . I PROMISE you won't have to wait another 20 chapters for another interaction. Alice's role is going to grow in this story, but... I hope and pray you all think I captured the emotions correctly. **

**3) I've had a few pm's asking me questions. Most of which have been very flattering. The most oft repeated is how I get such a handle on people's reactions. (or why i spend so much time on them) What I try and do is put my head into each character. I literally sit there and try and put my head into Bella's, how the character as I've established her would handle certain things, how she'd react. And then I do it again and again. for every character. Even the minor ones. It helps keep the feeling and the mood of a story consistent. **

**4) DarkBella's author's notes: "Kathryn wasn't supposed to mention the part about me spanking or whipping the story in her last chapters author's notes."**

**5) Psh. I'm just jealous of the story. **

**6) Please read and review! I know this initial meeting has been building up for so long. I really want to know how you felt about it! How did we do? Did you like it/hate it/ambivalent? Let us know!**

**Next chapter: Someone's a slow learner. **


	22. Don't Leave Unhappy Just Leave

**-Chapter 22-**

Eliza went straight to class after lunch. She didn't even have to look; she could feel eyes upon her the entire time. It was far worse than the first day when she stared at out of curiosity. The teacher welcomed her and asked if she were feeling better today. It took Eliza a minute to realize exactly what the teacher was talking about, before she recalled yesterday's events. "Yes, I'm feeling much better. Thank you." She said, taking her seat next to Jasper.

When the teacher began to drone on, writing on whiteboard, Jasper murmured quietly to Eliza, "That was some performance at lunch."

Eliza shrugged, "You know it wasn't like she was at any great risk or anything."

Jasper nodded slightly and chuckled, "Oh I know that, but she could only do so much without risk of exposure."

Eliza nodded and smiled ruefully, "I honestly didn't expect him to snap like that. It was a good thing m.. Isabella rolled with that punch or he'd have broken half of the bones in his hand. And I really didn't expect his friends to want to get involved. But at least it made it clear that Isabella isn't the only one with a backbone; and I'm thankful that Emmett stopped the other. That made things a lot easier. To tell you the truth I'm surprised Emmett decided to intervene."

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked curiously, regarding Eliza thoughtfully.

"Well given the state of.. relations between us right now, I didn't expect any of you to jump to her defense." Eliza shrugged, her tone matter of fact rather than accusing.

"That's true, though to tell the truth, Emmett just happened to make it there first. If he hadn't intervened when he did, I would have been there a half second later." Jasper's voice hardened slightly, "I was raised in the south, before I was turned. I consider myself a southern gentleman; I find it unacceptable for any man to hit a lady unless his very life is in peril."

Eliza snorted a little bit in derision, causing the teacher to glance her way briefly. When he observed that she seemed to be taking notes he turned back away.

Jasper frowned, and seemed briefly offended, "You have a problem with southern gentlemen?"

Eliza frowned a little bit and shook her head a little bit. "I have a problem with you describing yourself as such." Jasper's frown deepened, inviting her to continue.

Eliza shrugged a little bit, "You say you have a problem with guy's hitting girls, because you're a 'southern gentleman'. Does that include any sort of physical attack or is it just punching?"

Jasper nodded slowly, "I don't approve of any sort of violence against women."

Eliza shrugged and looked up at the board; the teacher was beginning to wind down his lesson as the class drug towards a close, not unlike an animal without water in the desert. "So, if you have a problem with it why didn't you stop it?"

Jasper frowned at that, "I was on the other side of the cafeteria, and Isabella _did_ provoke the confrontation. I assumed she knew what she was doing."

Eliza shook her head a and her eyes narrowed. "No, that's not what I mean. I meant before that, when the asshole decided to bully Hailey and Madison."

Jasper shook his head, his voice in low in mild protest "I was sitting down on the other end of the cafeteria, nothing I could do to prevent that."

"Oh, so if she hadn't confronted him, you would have?" Eliza shot back. Jasper's frown and silence answered the question, so Eliza continued. "Hailey and Madison said that sort of thing is normal. They thought they should have been paying attention and expected to get tripped.' So it's not like it was a onetime occurrence."

The teacher finished speaking just before the bell rang for class to end. Eliza snapped her notebook closed and looked Jasper full in the eyes, her voice a low but intense murmur. "Tell me something. Allowing stuff like that to go on for all the months you've been here; is that the mark of a southern gentleman?"

Eliza didn't wait for an answer as she spun on her heels to head out the door, leaving Jasper frowning and troubled.

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Isabella turned in the sketch pad the teacher had provided before leaving for her next class. It was the only other class in her schedule that interested her at all; creative writing. She was lost in her own thoughts over the events of the art class and resulting interaction with Alice. She barely noticed the passing of time and probably couldn't have repeated the teacher's name if someone offered to pay her to do so

Isabella couldn't get the memory of Alice's hopeless expression out of her mind; and more frustratingly, she couldn't figure out why she couldn't get it out of her mind.

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Eliza was leaning against her locker waiting with her helmet and gloves when Isabella joined her, Isabella took thirty seconds to toss her books into her locker before grabbing her own gloves and helmet, before they walked down the hallway together.

"So how did you enjoy your classes?" Eliza asked as they walked through the hall, avoiding the throng (inasmuch as Forks was capable of producing a throng) of people eager to make it out the door.

Isabella frowned thoughtfully, "I don't know, they were okay. I've got two classes with members of the Cullen family." Isabella glanced around at all the kids who were staring at them as they walked out to the parking lot.

"Enjoying your newfound popularity?" Eliza laughed.

Isabella chuckled dryly. "More like infamy. It hasn't been too bad. Everyone is not sure whether to high-five me or stay away as if I have leprosy maybe because they're worried about Kevin's retribution."

Eliza snorted and shook her head. The idea that Kevin would try and get revenge was an amusing one. He couldn't hurt her and they both knew it.

"I know you had Rosalie in the morning, who else did you have class with?" Eliza asked as they approached their motorcycles.

Isabella's intention to reply was forgotten when she saw who was standing next to her motorcycle. Eliza and Isabella both sighed when they saw Edward standing there, an apologetic look fixed upon his face.

It was clear from the direction of his gaze that he wanted to talk to Isabella. Isabella just rolled her eyes and began to put on her gloves, "What do you want Edward?"

His apologetic smile flattened slightly before resuming its original wattage. "I was hoping we could talk." Isabella wondered if it was just her anger and resentment welling up or if his voice had always been so whiny.

Isabella shrugged disinterestedly and leaned against her motorcycle, "What is it you want to discuss?"

He frowned slightly and glanced at Eliza who hadn't bothered to hide her scowl at him as she straddled her motorcycle. "I was hoping we could talk privately."

Isabella hesitated a moment and then nodded slowly, "Okay fine." She turned and glanced at Eliza a moment. _**"Give me just a minute."**_

Eliza scowled further but didn't object as Isabella walked off the parking lot and away from the bikes toward a small copse of trees.

They got far enough so that they wouldn't be overheard by humans, Isabella was positive Eliza could hear, and the rest of the Cullen clan, gathered outside their two cars could probably hear them as well. Though Isabella did notice the conspicuous absence of Alice among the Cullens who made no secret of watching the two of them. Isabella turned to Edward, and fixed her hands on her hips. "What do you want to talk about?"

Edward frowned slightly, his face expressing concern. "I wanted to talk about you. What's happened to you?"

Isabella frowned at him lightly, "What do you mean?"

"I mean... what happened? You've been one of us all these years and you never once tried to contact us or get in touch, and then-." Edward started to explain.

Isabella nodded with mock solemnity as she interrupted. "I did mail a message to you, it went right to that forwarding address you so graciously provided me. The postal service must have lost - oh wait. That's right. I forgot. You didn't give me one."

Her voice remained cold, but Isabella sneered in disgust. "I always wondered whether you'd thought I'd been killed when you abandoned me in the woods or just hoped so"

Edward scowled but managed to keep from snarling in response. "It's not just that, I mean look at the way you're acting. Ignoring me, being cruel to Esme, practically snarling at me, picking fights in the cafeteria. That's not you Bella... what did the Volturi do to you?" Edward demanded as if it was his right to know.

Isabella's expression was one of absolute amazement. She wondered if he was truly that dense. "How would you know what is me and what isn't me? Are you so obtuse you don't know how lucky you are? I've killed people for far less than what you've said to me today, only Aro's desire for us to maintain a low profile has kept you alive here sparky. You don't know me at all; else you wouldn't be here wasting your lying breath." She did notice that his complaints seemed to center around him.

Edward smiled again, it was if she hadn't spoken at all which only served to anger her further. Even worse it was the half smile she was sure was meant to be charming. "I remember all about you. My Bella was sweet and friendly. My Bella was the one who cared about everyone. She didn't try and hurt them like you did Esme. My Bell-"

"I. Am. Not. 'Your Bella!'" Isabella's voice cut him off. "My name is Isabella, and I stopped being 'Your Bella' when you left me. I have no interest in being 'Your Bella' ever again. The same applies to the rest of your family. Esme, Alice, and Emmett all treated me like I was part of the family. They even went so far as to say it. But when you decided to leave me they didn't even bother with a goodbye. Every word you and your family ever said to me was a lie. The amusing human stray you took in had stopped being so amusing. Every… single… one of you threw me away. That's _your_ _family_.." Isabella practically hissed the words 'your family'.

Edward looked stunned, fueling Isabella's anger further. She turned her back to him to help resist the urge to literally rip his smile off, along with the rest of his face. "You left me in the forest. Don't you recall? You just walked away. You took any mementos I had of you. You swore it would be just like you had never existed. If only." Isabella shook her head

Edward's controlled smile slipped completely and he glared at her. "I was trying to do the noble thing, the right thing, and let you live a normal life."

Isabella spun around to face him again, crossing her arms over her chest. "No, you weren't. I told you to change me. I practically begged you to change me. I would have given up my entire life for you. I gave you my heart. But... I wasn't good enough for you. I wasn't good enough to join your precious family. I was nearly as big a fool as you've remained."

Edward's voice was a growled protest, "I wanted to protect you."

Isabella raised an eyebrow, her voice sarcastic. "Protect me from what exactly? The only thing I see that you've protected me from is putting up with _you_, your 19th century chauvinism and your utter conviction the universe exists for you to be in it."

Edward threw up his hands dramatically, which inspired a mini epiphany for Isabella. "He _i__s_ a drama queen!" she thought.

His voice came out in a plea for understanding. "From all of this. I wanted to protect you from our life, from the dangers we face. I wanted to protect you from being forced to lose your family. I wanted to protect you from becoming one of us. I wanted to protect you from the thirst, from those feral years as a newborn. I wanted to protect you from becoming a soulless monster!"

Isabella was in his face less than a moment after he finished talking, her finger pointed right at his eyes. "No. You didn't. You wanted a relationship on your terms or not at all. You wanted things your way or not at all. You made the choice to leave me because that's what you wanted. Your own twisted beliefs gave you an out. It allowed you to dump me without turning me and to think of yourself as noble and self sacrificing. You did it for yourself. You've never done anything for anyone except yourself."

Edward shook his head violently in denial. "I was trying to keep you from becoming one of us. I was trying to save your soul!"

Isabella smiled coldly. "Great job on the whole 'saving me' thing. That worked out well. Ironically enough I did eventually end up getting turned; but not in any way that forebodes good things for _you_." Isabella turned and strode away toward her bike.

Edward stepped in front of her, "No, we need to work this out. I love you! I won't allow things to stand like this between us!" his voice and chin were set stubbornly.

Isabella barely managed to keep from punching Edward in full in the face when he stepped in front of her. Isabella snarled at him, "There is no we or us, Edward. And you don't get to dictate 'how things stand' between us. Your opinion means about as much to as that of a mouse, no wait, mice aren't self centered with a streak of being vainglorious, your opinion means less." She stepped around him walking deliberately to her motorcycle where Eliza was waiting.

Edward responded in a voice which managed to be patronizing, condescending and whiny in a nasal way all at once. "Bella... Don't do this. There's no need for this. Come back. We can be together now, with no worry about me or my family members hurting you. You can be part of our family again." His anger was starting to get the best of him, but his tone was one of coaxing.

Edward's voice alone was enough to send Isabella over the top, but she managed to grit her teeth and take a deep breath as she strode back to her motorcycle. She picked up her helmet and turned back to face him. "I will never come back to you; and I have no interest in being part of a family that is willing to abandon someone it claims as one of its own."

She turned her head and slid on her helmet, obscuring her face as Edward stood at the front of her motorcycle, with fists clenched.

This time he snarled at her, his anger at the continued rejection getting the best of him. "This isn't over. Fate obviously intended for us to be together, or it wouldn't have brought us back together like this. You are still a part of my family. You are still my Bella!"

Isabella tore her helmet off and glared at him, her anger settling into a familiar icy rage and said simply. "Apparently you're as hard of hearing as you are stupid. Unless I give you permission otherwise, my name is Isabella. Here's something for you to consider Edward Cullen, I don't suffer ignorance well…not well at all. This is the second time you've forced your putrid presence upon me in a single day. Do it a third time, ever, and you won't emerge whole or unscarred… you may not emerge at all. You… have… no… clue… how much I want to end you." Unbeknownst to Bella she'd just completely crushed a helmet designed to withstand 100 mile per hour impacts in her bare hands. Fortunately no one else in the parking lot had the angle to see her hands when she did. Disgusted and trembling with rage she threw the now baseball sized hunk of plastic to the ground, started up her motorcycle with roar of power, backing it up with a kick of her feet and sped out of the parking lot.

Eliza however wasn't content to let it go at that having been barely restraining her tongue. "She's _not _yours. She's my family now and I will never let you hurt her again. That means you will never have her again, no matter how much you wish it otherwise…Cockbite."

Eliza slipped her helmet on and then started her bike, following Isabella out of the parking lot, leaving Edward there fuming and speechless.

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"Cockbite? Really?" Isabella demanded as they walked into their house, her voice half offended and half sarcastic.

Henry was sitting at the table in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, reading the paper in on his Ipad, his eyebrow raised.

As they stopped in the kitchen, Eliza shrugged a little bit, "It was either that or douche bag and I'd hate to repeat myself so soon."

"Oh? Where did you hear that bit of jargon? More late night cable?" Isabella asked with a sigh.

"Actually that one was from YouTube." Eliza said smugly, Isabella responded by rolling her eyes.

"So... err... it sounds like an interesting first day of school." Henry ventured cautiously.

"Oh you could say that." Eliza said grinning widely. "Mom decided to beat the crap out of the school bully in front of everyone."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "A normal first day, there was the confrontation with Rosalie, which I admit was at least a little cathartic. Then there was also a confrontation in which Eliza decided that the best way to finish the argument was to call my ex-boyfriend a cockbite."

"Okay, I totally agree the bully deserved it. And seriously Mom? Your ex is a dick." Eliza said with a frown. She looked like she wanted to continue but was restrained by the look on Isabella's face which looked as if her language may have went a bit too far.

The conversation was cut short when both heard a sound from upstairs and turned to see Leah skipped downstairs wearing her normal jean shorts and a tank top. She looked at Eliza, her face serious.

Eliza looked up at Leah smiling in a conspiratorial way, "Hey, how's your brother doing?"

Leah looked grim, "Seth is doing much better, but we lost Paul.".

"What?!" Eliza exclaimed, her face stricken, Isabella remained oddly silent.

"Yeah... but we found him asleep in the bathtub. We're not sure if it was on purpose or not," Leah added, collapsing in laughter at the expression on Eliza's face, just as an outraged Eliza crossed the room to pounce upon her. The two of them wrestled playfully for several seconds, a wrestling match that descended into laughter from both of them.

Isabella watched the two of them without comment, though her expression reflected slight amusement. After a few moments the chaos subsided, a still giggling Eliza and Leah pleased that her joke had had the desired effect, adjourned to the couch.

"Seriously how are they?" Eliza finally asked, as she settled down.

"They're fine, Seth's watching TV in his room, and Rachel's up talking with Paul." Leah replied stretching a bit as she settled down on the couch next to Eliza

Isabella nodded in satisfaction at the answer, "That's good to hear, they're probably already starting to get restless. But they need to rest. Did you make sure to tell them to stay put?"

Leah nodded, "They're still in quite a bit of pain. Carlisle dropped by this morning to give them some morphine. They burn through it so fast it doesn't do much good. But Carlisle said that the worst of it is over, and the pain should be getting better quickly."

Isabella nodded then looked back and forth between Eliza and Leah. "What do the two of you have planned for tonight?"

Eliza grinned, "Well we thought we'd run into Seattle, knock over a few liquor stores, blow up a few banks. See what else we could get into."

Isabella rolled her eyes and said to Leah, "Ignore her, she's been in a smart ass mood all day."

Leah chuckled a and looked at Eliza, "I figured a night of movies and games. A rematch at scrabble maybe?"

Eliza nodded and then looked at her mother, "Want to play?" She asked curiously.

Isabella shrugged slightly, "If you don't mind being beaten, badly, by an old woman."

Eliza snorted in derision.

Henry spoke, "Just so the two of you know, the forecast says there's an 85% chance tomorrow is sunny."

Isabella raised her an eyebrow, "I'm guessing that'll mean no school."

Eliza sighed, and then grinned, shaking off her momentary disquiet. "I'll go get the scrabble board!" She said, scampering away.

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**Author's notes: **

**1) YAY! update**

**3) Don't worry that isn't even close to me being done with Edward. But I hope those of you disappointed with the first interaction enjoyed this one. We probably won't see school for awhile. There's... alot of stuff coming down the pipe in the story. Just a word of warning!**

**4) How was it? Please read and review! I get enough reviews and we'll see about releasing another chapter this weekend O_O **

**Next Chapter- More Bellice! **


	23. It Only Hurts When You Lie

**Chapter 23**

**I've been livin' my life in a cage, **

**Freedom spits in my face**

**It was such a disgrace and I was lonely**

**And feeling empty, desperate.**

The ride home from school was a quiet one. No one seemed to be willing to speak in either of the Cullen cars as they drove. The only person missing was Alice. Jasper told the others she'd texted him saying she needed to run and clear her mind. Rosalie had raised a puzzled eyebrow, but hadn't said anything and they'd all been too engrossed in evaluating the confrontation which had just occurred to discuss it afterwards.

Edward was torn between confusion and a blinding rage. His mind was whirling a mile a minute as he tried to process what just happened. He barely focused on driving, but had shrugged off both Jasper and Adara's attempts to let them drive instead. He'd nearly driven off the road twice. He pulled into the garage and was out the door almost before he shut the car off. Edward stormed into the house with the rest of the Cullens close behind.

Anticipating the day would be trying for her children, Esme was waiting expectantly in the living room. Seeing Edward's furious scowl, and how the rest of her children were watching him warily, she sighed. "I take it things didn't go well today?"

As if the question had been all the impetus he needed, he began to vent "I don't know what the hell is going on with her but my Bella was not acting like herself. I think the Volturi have done something to her! I think they've brainwashed her or something; that was so not her today." he cut himself off and his voice descended into a string of muttered curses

Esme had the entire day to compose herself after last night's stinging rebuke. While the hurt of Bella's offhand rejection hadn't faded, she was less visibly upset. She frowned as she looked around, "Where's Alice?"

"She's off feeding or maybe just clearing her head again." Edward snapped, "Who cares? What are we going to do about Bella? This is not acceptable!" His voice rose to a shout until he realized just how loud he was being and managed to regain marginal control of himself again then went back to muttering

Esme glanced around at the other members of her family. They had taken up places around the room. Jasper and Adara were standing with their arms crossed near the doorway. Rosalie had taken a seat on the couch, her posture rigid and upright. Emmett had taken a seat in the loveseat , he was relaxed but he had a frown on his face.

"What happened?" Esme's voice was worried, but full of curiosity, addressing the others since it was obvious Edward's string of expletives would continue for a few moments

"Which part?" inquired Rosalie sarcastically, "The part where she ignored Edward at the beginning of the day? The part where she was pretentious and snippy with me? The part where she kicked the crap out of a kid at school? Or the part where she and Edward 'chatted' after school and she expressed her feelings for this family. None of which were pleasant I might add." The look of hurt crossed Esme's face again, but she showed no surprise.

Rosalie had barely finished talking when Edward spoke up again, "She blew me off and threatened me… twice today!" His tone still reflected his amazement and utter rage at the idea of _his _Bella threatening him. It angered him that the woman had no idea of her place. "It's like she blames me for everything. Blames me for her ending up one of us despite me trying to prevent it."

"She did seem like she was exceptionally upset with the rest of the family, nearly as much as she was with you, Edward. It seems she blames you all." Adara's voice was calm and reflective. She spent her time looking back and forth between Edward, who was pacing and gesturing wildly, and her mate who had a troubled look on his face.

Edward straightened his shoulders, "We need to do something! Figure out what they've done to her and snap her out of it." His eyes narrowed in speculation, "Maybe it's that… Eliza. Maybe she's got some sort of hold over Bella, or maybe some sort of relationship that Chelsea set up for the Volturi." His tone got more exasperated the wilder his theories got.

It was Jasper who scoffed mildly, "I'm pretty sure that's not it. I felt the anger when she was talking to you. You're lucky you didn't end up like the helmet she crushed. It could just as easily have been your head. She's genuinely angry at us."

Edward snarled his response at Jasper, "It's got to be something they've done to her and we can't just sit here and do nothing. Just because you're upset that Eliza said you weren't a 'southern gentleman' doesn't mean we shouldn't figure out what's wrong with Bella. God you can be so selfish!"

Adara growled at Edward, defending her mate as Jasper stood there looking stunned before his stunned expression turned to one of anger, "Stay out of my head Edward!"

"God, she's doing it again!" Rosalie growled out, half shouting. Everyone turned to look at her, "She shows up and in one fucking day and it's started all over! Esme is worried about her like a long lost child. Alice is spending all of her time off in her own little world. Edward is mooning and obsessing over Bella. He and Jasper are snapping at each other. We're all bickering and at each other's throats! It took us years to get past it last time. Now we're right back here and it's all her fault."

"Shut. Up."

Complete silence fell over the room, as every single head turned toward the direction of the words. Emmett Cullen slowly stood up scowling at everyone in the room.

Everyone was stunned, but none looked more shocked than Rosalie who's bewilderment was total. She opened her mouth to say something "W-"

"No. I said shut up." Emmett said, his voice a command cutting her off. Rosalie lapsed back into silence looking even more astounded. He looked at every member of the family before glaring down at Rosalie. "You're pissed because you snapped at Bella and for once she gave as good as she got… hell she gave better than she got, and that's what's got you all bent out of shape. Get the fuck over it."

Rosalie's expression became even more flabbergasted, Emmett had never talked to her like that before. But before she could muster a reply, he was turning and pointing a finger at Edward with a bigger scowl on his face.

"And YOU." Emmett's voice was actually trembling with rage. "You're pissed off because she didn't see you and fall into your arms and tell you it was all okay. You left her. You made all of us leave her and mistake or not, we went with you because you're family. But you have the gall to be surprised when she isn't thrilled with your attention after you abandoned her? I don't need to read minds to know she just said what all of us have thought more than once since then. She grew a fucking backbone and isn't letting you run her life anymore. You need to wake the hell up and realize she's not going to just take you back with a smile." Emmett looked around, still scowling. "Or any of the rest of us for that matter."

He turned and without another word stormed out of the living room and upstairs to the bedroom he shared with Rosalie. They all heard the door shut with a thud and there was utter silence in the living room. No one had expected playful, easygoing Emmett to go off like that, it was a side of him, they'd never seen before.

Rosalie looked around at everyone as the silence stretched out longer than a minute. Finally she stood up and dashed up the stairs. She didn't bother knocking and opened the door to their room, slamming it behind her. Emmett met her scowling face with his own, he wasn't ready to back down as she stalked toward him.

When she got within arm's reach, Emmett started to bring his hands up defensively, when she threw herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck and devouring his lips with hers.

Emmett was surprised, having expected an entirely different reaction but he wasn't one to swim upstream when the current was flowing his way.

Rosalie's lips broke from his and she groaned, even as her hands began to tear at his clothes, "That was SO fucking _**hot." **_She had never seen him take control or act like that before and it absolutely drove her wild, her excitement and arousal just increasing as she felt his hands begin to tear at her clothes in return.

They didn't emerge from their bedroom for several hours.

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An hour later Eliza was on the couch with Leah, flicking through the channels in an irritated way, still muttering to herself. Isabella had left to get some fresh air in a run through the forest. Rachel was upstairs with Paul, who'd drifted off again. Henry was in the basement doing whatever he did with the computer. For all Eliza knew Henry spent his time looking at German midget porn bikers, dressed in diapers, chasing nurses who were painted to look like smurfs. Either way the two of them had a modicum of privacy.

"She won fair and square you know." Leah watched Eliza mutter and fume and couldn't help but smile. Leah was normally a very serious person. She'd spent most of her life scowling and angry. She took a moment to marvel at how different she was around Eliza. Eliza had this general sense of fun and irreverence that put Leah at ease and seemed to draw her in effortlessly. Leah was inwardly amazed at the amount of time she spent smiling around Eliza..

Eliza pouted slightly, playfully irritated that her friend found the predicament amusing, "No she totally got lucky."

"She beat you by 180 points. She absolutely crushed me." Leah said, doing her best to keep her tone commiserating and understanding.

"Yeah but it was all because of one word, 200 points because she spelled 'zephyrs' and got two triple letter, and a triple word score! It's a word like… no one in the world knows! I speak six languages and I've never heard of the word 'zephyr' before!" Eliza said, her thumb stabbing at the remote as if it had personally offended her. Leah secretly wondered if the remote control, which she felt was an innocent bystander in all this, would survive such treatment.

"She got out the dictionary and proved it." Leah pointed out, an amused smile on her face as she listened to Eliza continue to grumble.

"Stupid dictionary. Henry probably planted that word in there on purpose." Eliza muttered. She realized she sounded ridiculous but she really didn't care at the moment. She finally gave up on finding something to watch and tossed the remote to Leah, who caught it; inwardly relieved at the suffering electronics survival. Eliza then turned and laid out on the couch with a sigh, resting her head on Leah's thigh and looking up at the ceiling.

Leah looked down at Eliza and couldn't help reaching down to run her fingers through Eliza's hair. Leah watched Eliza's expression curiously. It was obvious that the girl wanted to talk, but equally as obvious that the girl would do it only in her own time.

Eliza closed her eyes, just taking a few moments to enjoy the sensation of Leah's fingers through her hair. Eliza wasn't used to such casual touching. She and her mother would occasionally clasp hands or support one another with a hug. This sort of physicality was different and Eliza found herself very much enjoying it. She murmured quietly, "You're so warm."

Leah's hand flinched back and she quickly murmured an apology. "I'm sorry; it's the whole werew- wolf shifter part of me." She said hastily correcting herself. Eliza had reminded her several times in the past few days and it was still taking time to adjust to calling herself something other than a werewolf. The habits of a century were hard to break. "We're about ten degrees warmer than your average human." Leah said almost in an apology.

Eliza shook her head slightly, and then reached up and grabbed Leah's hand, bringing it back down to her hair. "Don't be silly, I don't think I'd be using your leg as a pillow if I didn't like it." The touch was curiously intimate and relaxing and Eliza found herself loathe to let it stop.

Leah blushed and smiled shyly, but returned to running her fingers through Eliza's hair slowly. "It sounded like you had an eventful day at school today." Eliza closed her eyes again and nodded slightly, but didn't respond so Leah continued. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Eliza sighed though she didn't open her eyes. "It's... being here. I'm worried about Mom." Leah tilted her head, her fingers threading through Eliza's dark hair.

"I'm the reason we came here; or in my mom's case back here. She went through a really rough time, and I was hoping being here would help her. I just… didn't expect her to have to confront so many issues from her past all at once." Eliza said.

Leah nodded thoughtfully, watching Eliza's expression as she spoke. "But I didn't expect the Cullen family to be here. I hoped she would be able to deal with just being here. I wanted her to get a handle on just being in a place with so many memories. I was praying she would come to terms with some of what has happened before she had to deal with all the issues she has with the family she blames the most."

Leah nodded slowly, brushing her fingers over Eliza's forehead. "She has a lot of issues it seems."

Eliza nodded, her eyes moving beneath her eyelids as Leah's fingers brushed her face. "Yeah, she's been so closed down for so long; being here seems to be helping, at least a little bit. She's at least smiling and laughing sometimes. She's nowhere close to working through her anger with the Cullens though." Eliza sighed and murmured quietly. "I just hope she can do it without losing it."

Leah frowned and then murmured quietly, "The relationship she was in with that… leech was not a healthy one. I got to see what she looked like when she was found in the forest after he left her. She had invested so much of her emotion and spirit in that family. She loved all of them, not just him, and when they left, it was like they ripped the emotional skeleton out of her. I remember her when she was here and she was human. She carried so much hate around with her. It was hard to tell who she hated more, them or herself. Trust me. I knew the signs."

Eliza's eyes opened up wide in surprise. She looked up at Leah trying to evaluate both her tone and her words. "I... didn't know you were… that… experienced."

Leah grinned, "Are you telling me I look good for my age?"

Eliza laughed and shook her head, "I'm hardly someone who's going to throw rocks about age am I?"

Leah nodded slightly, and then sighed "I didn't interact with her much. I... wasn't very nice to her."

Eliza looked up at Leah curiously, eyes searching her face. "Why not?"

Leah looked uncomfortable, her eyes looking away in embarrassment. "I wasn't very nice to anyone. I was very angry all the time. I was very resentful about the whole wolf transformation, even before I first shifted." Eliza tilted her head curiously, though she didn't lift it from Leah's lap, letting her talk.

Leah sighed, "My boyfriend, Sam was the first in his generation to transform into a wolf. It was hard on him and harder on us, but we worked through it. I was in love with him. We were high school sweethearts. Then he imprinted on my best friend and cousin."

Eliza sat up with an expression of surprise, turning to look at Leah. "That was you?" Seeing Leah's small nod, Eliza continued. "Mom told me about that when she was explaining the whole imprint thing, before... you know... we met."

Leah nodded, not meeting Eliza's eyes. "I was so mad about it, I didn't understand what imprinting meant. Then... the transformation happened. It caught everyone off guard, because I was the first female that had ever shifted. When we're shifted into our wolf forms we share a pack mind. I could see in Sam's mind what he felt in his imprint. But I resented the hell out of it."

Leah clenched her hands into fists and looked down. "I thought it meant there was something wrong with me. I wasn't fit to be imprinted on. I became pretty miserable to be around. My thoughts were always antagonistic to everyone in the pack. Everyone but Jake and my brother Seth actively avoided me. Sam stopped shifting after a few years because Emily didn't shift, so they grew older together. Jake took over as alpha in the pack. He kind of let me do my own thing. He was always understanding about my need to be alone. I thought for so long me not imprinting, and not being able to control myself enough not to change, meant there was something actually wrong with me. I thought it meant I was a dead end, no relationship, no future, no aging. I recognized the signs of self-hatred in Bella because I'd seen them in myself."

Eliza slid forward on the couch to wrap Leah up in a hug. Leah wrapped her arms around Eliza's waist and buried her face in Eliza's neck, not crying, just breathing deeply. Leah murmured quietly. "You know, I used to detest the way vampires smell. It was always easy to track them when they came through our territory because of their stench. But... you smell good." Realizing what she said, Leah immediately leaned back to look Eliza in the face, "I'm sorry, that wasn't weird was it?"

Eliza ducked her head slightly, and if she could have blushed she would have. "No, as long as you don't think it's weird for me to say you feel and smell different. Like... I can hug you or get close to you without fighting the urge to bite you like I would a normal human. It's... nice." She looked up at Leah's face and nervously slid a lock of hair back behind her ear.

Leah looked searchingly at Eliza's face her head moving infinitesimally closer. "I don't think it's weird at all. It makes me feel good."

Eliza allowed herself to move a little closer to Leah's, and a shy expression crossed her face as their faces got closer when suddenly Eliza straightened up with a gasp of shock as her mother's voice rocketed through her mind. _**"Holy shit!"**_

_**"Mother, are you alright?" **_Eliza voice rang back to Isabella concerned. Leah scrambled backward, looking humiliated. She would have leaped right off the couch, but Eliza grabbed her arm to stop her, though her eyes stayed unfocused as she reached for her mother.

_**"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, just caught momentarily off guard." **_Isabella's mental voice sounded disgusted

_**"What happened?" **_Eliza asked, partially focusing back on Leah whose embarrassment remained though a frown of confusion crossed her face.

_**"I was distracted and a Cullen stumbled over me. I'm fine. Don't worry. Go back to what you were doing." **_Isabella's voice was still disgusted but it was obvious it was with herself.

Eliza looked away in embarrassment at her Mother's comment, even if her mother couldn't see what she was actually doing without Eliza knowing her mother was using their connection. She looked up at Leah apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mom startled me I didn't mean…"

Leah looked somewhat relieved, settling back down on the couch, though she still looked at Eliza awkwardly. "I… thought… I freaked you out for a minute there."

Eliza blinked and shook her head, "No you didn't." Eliza shifted a bit, pulling Leah back in close. Rather than try to pick up the mood after such an interruption, Eliza pulled her knees up close to her chest and curled up, settling in close to Leah's side, resting her head on Leah's shoulder and turned to flick the TV channel to a comedy.

Leah dropped her arm around Eliza's shoulder and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, but was content to hold her, well aware of her promise to go slow, and the mood had been broken.

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Isabella was enjoying the cool nights breeze. She was leaning against a tree at the edge of a small clearing, and looking out at the night sky. It was rare in this area when the night wasn't stormy or cloudy. She was able to look out and see the stars in the night sky, and she was letting her mind wander as she contemplated the view.

Isabella had enjoyed the game with her daughter and Leah. Isabella was always amazed at her daughter's zest for life, given the fact Eliza's upbringing was, quite literally, torture. Isabella was pleased her daughter seemed to be settling in with an actual friend. Eliza liked people, which was rare in their world. Most vampires were very insular, living in covens or two or three and living a nomadic lifestyle.

The Volturi were exceptionally rare in that regard, given how many vampires were considered part of it. There were only nine true coven member s however, many other vampires were there because they felt they needed to be. One of the lesser known vampires in the coven, Chelsea, had the ability to make or break emotional connections, and kept the entire coven bound together by a deep sense of loyalty. Still, most vampires within the Volturi paired off, usually with their mates. Friendships with other vampires were very rare indeed, because if something happened, you might be asked to put your "friend" to death; or worse still, be considered part of the issue.

Eliza had never complained to Isabella about it. Isabella had only occasionally worried about it. They had each other and that seemed to satisfy Eliza. Being back here, seeing Jacob and the rest of the pack had reminded Isabella what it had felt like to have other friends. Even given the complications arising from Leah imprinting on her daughter, Isabella was pleased by their burgeoning friendship. Isabella wanted her daughter to have other people in her life. If something happened to her, and Isabella was honest enough with herself that she believed it was very likely to happen. She wanted her daughter to have someone to lean on. A reason to continue living, Isabella knew from experience what it felt like not to have.

Isabella sighed. She was proud of her daughter for her actions during the day. Isabella knew Eliza was equally as proud of her for not giving in to her urges to literally rip Edward's head from his shoulders. He had come close to death three times in the span of a few hours and he hadn't even realized it.

"Isabella?" a soft voice disturbed her inner monologue and she spun instantly on the defensive.

**"Holy shit!"** She said crouching, hands extended protectively. She straightened slowly after she realized she was face to face with Alice Cullen, who looked startled but not shocked to find Isabella out here

_**"Mother, are you all right?" **_Eliza's concerned voice came to her.

Isabella cursed herself, realizing she must have transmitted her comment to her daughter in her surprise. She was even more irritated with herself for someone sneaking up on her, that hadn't happened to her in over half a century. _**"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry. Just caught momentarily off guard."**_

_**"What happened?" **_Her daughter's voice asked, relieved but still concerned.

_**"I was distracted and a Cullen stumbled over me. I'm fine. Don't worry. Go back to what you were doing." **_Isabella replied. She felt a flash of embarrassment from her daughter and couldn't help raising an eyebrow in curiosity, but filed it away for future reference as she viewed an uncertain looking Alice Cullen.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Alice was saying apologetically.

Isabella crossed her arms and rested her hip against the tree she had been leaning on. She appraised Alice thoughtfully and somewhat warily. "I wasn't paying attention and didn't sense you close by. What brings you out here?"

Alice frowned and looked down, "I was finished hunting and wasn't ready to head back, and I caught your scent..." she trailed off hesitantly. Her statement wasn't entirely honest. In reality Alice had left school after the art class earlier that day for a chance to clear her head. Alice had not expected the utterly indifferent response Bella had to her presence.

Alice had spent nearly the past century either thinking about Isabella or trying _not_ to think about her. She had experienced so many emotions when she'd seen her earlier that day. It had been everything she could do not to tackle and hug Isabella when she saw her in the cafeteria for the first time. When she had gotten to art class, any number of greetings had flown right out of her head.

She had prepared herself for Isabella to be angry at her. Alice had been prepared for Isabella to show her how much she had been hurt. She had prepared to be despised, and even had braced herself to be hated. She had prepared for any number of responses. The one response she hadn't prepared for was apathy. Isabella had talked liked they'd been the most casual of acquaintances and merely hadn't happened to run into each other lately.

Like casual acquaintances would, Isabella had politely asked about a new member of the family. Expressed a little sympathy at the news of a divorce and the conversation had died. She hadn't been able to stand the rest of school.

Alice had run off, trying to get a handle on the emotions. She'd spent the intervening time alternating between weeping and calming her emotions. She had been headed back home when she'd caught Isabella's scent, and she couldn't resist.

Isabella frowned a moment, and then shrugged. She turned away to face the clearing and the stars again, an action which was more difficult than she'd expected. For some reason she found it hard to look away from Alice. Isabella made a point to look out at the stars, but was very aware of Alice's continued presence as the silence stretched between them.

"D... do you mind some company?" Alice asked faintly, after several minutes had elapsed, her voice very quiet and timid.

Isabella hesitated for several long seconds before she shrugged very slightly, unwilling to speak. Her normally expressionless face reflected confusion, and she was relieved to be turned away from Alice so Alice couldn't see her expression. Isabella wondered why she felt conflicted enough to do something beside telling off Alice. Why was she different than the other Cullens?

Alice didn't question the shrug, taking it as the only positive response she would get. After hesitating, uncertain on what to do, Alice slowly stepped forward and then sat down. She didn't say anything immediately, she just sat and looked up at the stars.

Isabella's attention was split between the night sky and sidelong glances at Alice. She couldn't help but note once again that Alice seemed so sad. Alice seemed to lose herself in her thoughts. Her hands slid up and down the front of her legs in a nervous gesture. The silence persisted until Isabella heard Alice's voice, barely a whisper even to her vampire senses. "I'm sorry."

Isabella turned her head to fully regard Alice, her eyes narrowing, but keeping her expression rigid.

When Isabella didn't say anything, Alice shifted, tilting her head back and looking up to meet Isabella's narrowed eyes, she repeated louder. "I'm so sorry."

Isabella raised an eyebrow, keeping her emotions very tightly in check "For what?"

It was as if the floodgates had opened for Alice and her words poured out. "I'm so, so sorry I left you. I know you can't forgive me. I'm not asking you to. I'm sorry I let Edward make us all move. I'm not blaming him, it's all my fault. I should have told him to fuck off. I abandoned you here. I've regretted it ever since and I always will. This is small comfort to you, but you'll never hate me as much as I hate myself. I even thought you were dead, that it was my fault. I never even looked you up because I hoped against hope you had lived happily ever after, against all odds but I was afraid. Afraid of what I thought the truth might be. I never thought I'd ever get to see you again. I'm so so sorry. I know you hate me and I know you won't forgive us but I didn't want something to happen and you not to know it was the biggest stupidest mistake of my life. I'm so very sorry."

She would have babbled on more but Isabella cut her off. Her voice was very cold and controlled. "If you're so sorry, why did you leave? Why didn't you even say goodbye?"

Alice looked down, taking a breath. "I knew if... I went to say good bye I wouldn't have been able to leave. I thought... it was just temporary. I thought you were his mate and that he wouldn't be able to leave you for long. But I was so wrong and I'm so sorry."

Isabella's fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly, she wanted nothing more than to lash out, but Alice's voice and expression was full of nothing but hurt and desperation. "Why didn't you come back?"

Alice was silent for a long minute before she replied, her voice a whisper. "He threatened to kill you if we tried."

Isabella frowned, puzzled. "Who did?"

Alice looked down at her feet, her arms wrapping around her knees as she squeezed them to her chest. "Edward."

Isabella's jaw clenching tightly was the only thing which betrayed her emotions. For just a moment rage nearly overwhelmed her. She was glad Alice was looking down at the time otherwise she would have seen that her eyes were pure black. Her voice remained deceptively calm. "Why?"

Despite the absolutely flat tone of Isabella's voice, Alice flinched slightly, not looking up. "Because he thought maybe Esme, or I might have come back to Forks for you. He knew how much we cared for you."

"Why would he threaten to kill me?" Isabella's voice rose just slightly in intensity. She ignored the mention of Alice or Esme returning for her. She was only willing to tackle one thing at a time, and she focused on the thought of Edward being willing to kill her.

"Because he knew it would keep us away. He said you had a choice, something none of the rest of us did. He said he'd rather have you dead than have you give up your soul; and that's what would happen if we went back. So he told us quite plainly that he would kill you before he allowed it to happen. He meant every word." Alice's voice dropped off as she rested her chin on her knees. "I wanted to come back… so badly. But I didn't want him to kill you."

Isabella's fists tightened, her fury rising. She knew Edward had no qualms about doing what it took to get his way. It had been clear during their entire relationship, if she hadn't too weak to see it, a portion of her always blamed herself for that. He dictated things and she'd let him. He made the decisions and she went along with them. Isabella knew Edward wanted to dictate the terms of their relationship, but this was more than that. To threaten to kill her? If there was ever more proof he had no concept of love then this was it.

Isabella clenched her jaw and turned her head to look away as she asked through gritted teeth. "Answer me honestly. Did you agree with his reasoning for leaving?"

Alice flinched and hesitated but she nodded slowly. "I understood his concern you could be hurt, and were missing out on life... but I didn't agree with his refusal to turn you."

Isabella turned her head back to face Alice, her eyes narrowed and once again black with anger. "And the part about me not being good enough?"

Alice blinked at Isabella, confusion crossing her face. "What do you mean?" She asked, incomprehension on her face. Her eyes were drawn to Isabella's and a puzzled expression crossed her face. Isabella's eyes were completely black. Not just the irises but the entire eye. It was like there was nothing there where the eyes should be. For Alice, it felt like she was staring into a deep abyss.

Isabella stepped forward, towering over Alice as she looked down, her voice starting to shake with rage."I mean the part where Edward told me I wasn't good enough for him. I wasn't good for your family."

Alice's eyes went wide with shock, too stunned to react for several seconds before she leaped to her feet. "He said _what?"_ She snarled. The mystery that was Isabella's eyes was forgotten at the sudden wave of rage that passed through her.

Isabella blinked slightly in surprise, stepping back slightly as an enraged Alice seemed to vibrate when she jumped up. Before Isabella could reply, "_He said what?!"_ Alice repeated, this time hissing.

Isabella frowned slowly, "He said I wasn't good for him, or your fami-" Her repetition was cut off as Alice uttered an inarticulate cry of rage and turned, slamming her fist into a nearby tree, splinters flying everywhere. Alice didn't pause as she pulled back her fist and slammed the other one into the tree.

Alice stood there, her fist imbedded completely into the tree trunk. Her shoulders shaking in anger, she exhaled in a long hiss. When she pulled her fist from the tree she slowly turned to look at Isabella. Her voice still furious. "He said he told you he wanted you to live your life. He said you were upset at us for leaving and told him you never wanted to see him or us again."

Isabella blinked in surprise, then her eyes narrowed. "I begged him to stay. Offered him anything. I didn't want you to leave."

Alice looked up, her expression one of horror. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I never thought Edward would… would do that. And to leave his mate, I swear I thought he would go back. and he was miserable for months, I kept seeing him go back, but then he'd change his mind."

Isabella turned away from Alice, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was never his mate."

Alice nodded , "I know you two never actually…"

Isabella quickly shook her head, "No, that's not what I mean. I mean I was never his true mate. I was merely his 'La tua cantante', his singer."

Alice frowned in confusion, "I'm… not sure what that means."

Isabella sighed , "It's Italian. Aro explained it to me. Every vampire runs across a human from time to time who's blood is nearly irresistible to them; far more than to any other vampire. That's what I was to Edward. His willpower in leaving me alive was about the only thing I can say was impressive about him. He never loved me. He loved the idea of me. He craved my scent and desperately wanted my blood."

Isabella smiled a humorless smile, and turned her head to regard Alice out of the corner of her eyes. "Actually, you were a singer at one point too." Alice's expression was one of complete confusion so Isabella continued. "You remember when James confessed to me my blood smelled good. Not as good as yours though?"

Alice nodded slowly, remembering the filmed confession of the vampire who'd hunted Bella all those years ago.

"Well your blood sang to him. It's why he was so upset when the other vampire turned you. Because he didn't get a chance to taste your blood. It ruined the hunt for him. According to Aro when someone's blood sings to a vampire, there's nothing like the taste of it. It's like all the best drugs in the world rolled into one and multiplied by about a thousand. It's almost unheard of for a singer to survive." Isabella shrugged as she finished her explanation.

"I suspect it's the real reason that Edward wouldn't turn me. Somewhere deep inside, maybe not even consciously, he knew I wasn't his mate. Everything that attracted him to me in the first place was in my blood and scent. If I had been turned into a vampire it would be gone. But if he had killed me, then it would have upset everyone in his family and Edward could *never* lose that 'golden boy' persona with his family." Isabella's voice was full of mocking and sarcasm.

Alice nodded slowly, "That makes sense I guess."

Isabella shrugged again, and after a few moments pause she decided the conversation had been concluded, she began to walk away.

"Wait! Please wait!" Alice's forlorn cry stopped her in her tracks.

Alice frowned, her shoulders slumping. She twisted her fingers together in front of herself nervously. There was something so final about Isabella walking away from this conversation. She couldn't let her go without at least trying to reach out. "Please… I'm so sorry. I know I have no right to ask. But… can you ever forgive me? Can… we be friends again?"

Isabella stiffened slowly, her hands dropped to her sides and her fingers clenched and unclenched again slowly, anger coursing through her. But this time she let herself feel it, though refusing to act on it. She just stood there as several minutes ticked by, before Isabella finally answered without turning around to look at her. "You… want to be friends. After everything you, all of you, put me through. All the hurt, the pain. You cast me aside like I was a stray pet who no longer was welcome. You think I should just shrug and let bygones be bygones?"

Alice hung her head, her voice dropping to a despondent whisper, "Please… I'm so sorry. I will say it as many times as you need me to. I will do anything you ask. I can't… let you go again. Part of me died the first time I lost you. I think the rest of me will if I lose you again. Maybe I deserve it."

Isabella was once again caught off guard by the sheer hopelessness of Alice's voice."I… don't know. You abandoned me. A lot of stuff has happened. I don't think we can ever go back to the way things were. I'm… not the same person I was."

Isabella saw Alice move in a blurring at vampiric speed around in front of her. Alice looked up at her with a despairing expression, shaking her head. "I am not asking to go back to the way things were. I'm not asking to be friends with Bella Swan. I'm asking for a _chance_ to be friends with Isabella Volturi. Please, I will do anything." Alice pleaded her desperation so earnest there was no shame in it, not unlike someone about to drown grasping at a life preserver.

Isabella looked into Alice's eyes. She read the desperation, the sorrow Alice had borne so long. Isabella considered her response and then nodded slowly, "I'm willing to _try. _But... don't say I didn't warn you. I'm not who I was. I'm not a sweet naïve foolish little girl anymore."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The sheer relief in the smile on Alice's face, showed Isabella how much this truly meant to her. It was the first truly genuine smile Isabella had seen, and seeing it on Alice's face unexpectedly thrilled her.

Isabella held up her hand to quell Alice's enthusiasm slightly. "This offer is only for you. I'm not interested in the rest of your family suddenly believing things are forgiven, especially Edward whom I'd just as soon see burn in hell. I've got my own family now."

This dampened Alice's enthusiasm, but she nodded in agreement. "Edward will be lucky if I don't rip his arms off when I see him again." Alice looked around and then leaned back against the same tree where Isabella had been minutes earlier before she was disturbed. Alice sank down to the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest and looked up at the sky, a content smile on her face. It looked like the first time she'd truly smiled in a very long time.

Isabella smiled very slightly and leaned her shoulder against the tree. No further words were spoken, each woman respecting the other's privacy as they looked out into the starry night.

It was several hours later when they parted. Clouds slowly drifted over the sky, obscuring the stars. When they couldn't make them out any further, Alice stood and Isabella straightened as if in mutual agreement. They didn't speak, Alice waving timidly, which was so not her. Isabella merely nodded.

When Isabella returned home, Leah was curled up with her head on the arm of the couch and her legs over Eliza's lap, while Eliza sat next to her and flicked through channels on the TV.

Eliza frowned curiously at the expression on her mother's face. It was oddly, relaxed for her. Eliza chose not to say anything, rather than make her mom aware of it. Instead she merely gave her mother a wave of welcome home. Her mother waved back before descending the stairs into the Batcave to touch base with Henry.

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**Author's notes- **

**1) YAY Chapter! It's longer than most of mine. Because of a late addition :P**

**3) The first part of this chapter is in here because of a comment submitted by a reviewer djsmith10186. They asked about the Cullens reactions to Edward and Bella's confrontation. I realized that it was something i needed to write and something that was important! So thank you for the comments! I do read them. **

******4) I absolutely read and respond to my reviews. I've gotten several comments about not enough Bellice or that it's going too slow. I have a Bellice storyline wrapped inside a much larger story. It's not Bellice with some story slapped on to make it reasonable.**

**8) Please read and review! I very much appreciate them! I read them, and if you have PM's enabled then i respond! Even with just a short thank you for reading our writing!**


	24. Cry Havoc!

**Chapter 24**

**I had my head in a noose, **

**I had nothing to lose**

**Had enough of abuse **

**And now, I'm dangerous**

**Hateful, contagious, it haunts us**

The next morning arrived, bright and sunny, just as Henry had forecasted. The day passed quickly, though for Isabella, it was unusually full of visitors. Normally a solitary vampire by nature, with the exception of Eliza, who's presence was constant, Isabella almost never socialized. She spent most of her time reading, or refining her skills. Isabella either lacked, or ignored, basic social skills and sometimes even common courtesy; despite the fact she regularly reminded her daughter about the same things.

After making breakfast for himself and their four wolf-shifter house-guests Henry dutifully called the school to let them know Isabella and Elizabeth wouldn't be in. He made up a story about the both of them being sick in bed; possibly due to the overwork and stress of the recent move. The secretary told Henry to tell the two women to "get better soon and not to bite anyone." He was coughing in surprise when he hung up.

"Why did the school secretary tell me not to let you bite anyone?" Henry asked, an expression of complete bewilderment on his face.

"My daughter thinks she's funny." Isabella replied in mock exasperation.

"It was just a freaking joke!" Eliza protested when Isabella raised an eyebrow at her. "How did I know she'd think it was funny enough to repeat a gazillion times?"

Henry chuckled softly and shook his head. Then he waved to them, yawning, "I'm going to bed. Like the school secretary said. Try not to bite anyone. I'll see you this afternoon."

Leah and Rachel took the large breakfast Henry prepared up to Seth and Paul, both of whom were woken by the smell of the meal. They fell into it, eating as if they hadn't seen food for days.

Carlisle arrived shortly thereafter and declared himself pleased with the progress of his patients. He informed them that it seemed like their bones were healing properly, though he insisted on one more day of bed rest. When they protested, Carlisle calmly explained several facts to them. While their bones had healed, they were still very sore and still had some bruising on their chests; their internal organs could still be suffering from trauma.

Carlisle explained it was better to be to be safe than sorry in giving their bodies enough time to heal. He finally calmed them by saying they'd probably be okay to shift as soon as Sunday without hurting themselves. After finishing their checkups, he left with a small nod to Isabella who returned it.

It was shortly after lunch when Jacob, Tekali, and Embry arrived to check on their fellow pack members. They stayed several hours joking with Paul and Seth, keeping them company and making sure they knew they were missed. Isabella noted they spent more time with Seth, since Rachel never left Paul's side. They obviously didn't want Seth to feel left out. Even though Leah checked on him regularly, he seemed happy with the attention.

Leah and Seth's relationship was somewhere between the antagonism of siblings and playfully combative. Tekali confided in Eliza the two of them cared very much for each other, but were far more comfortable with their games of one-upmanship, only hinting at a far deeper affection. The trio of left about two hours later, claiming they had different responsibilities which needed attending to.

It was getting on towards late afternoon, when Eliza and Leah emerged from the Batcave where they'd spent most of the day. Leah had made the mistake of mentioning that she had never spent much time playing video games. Eliza had reacted as if Leah had just confessed to a hobby of clubbing baby seals. Eliza had wasted no time in hooking up a game system to the central monitor, in the basement. The "monitor" was a 59 inch flat screen TV. Eliza then proceeded to give Leah a crash course on videogames, starting with the most recent Halo and Call of Duty. At some point during the day Halo and Call of Duty had turned into Dance Dance Revolution. There had been laughter and teasing floating up from the basement all day.

When they finally emerged from the basement, Eliza nodded to Henry who was eating toast and talking to Isabella about the complete lack of attacks in Seattle over the past 48 hours.

"Mom, Leah and I were going to go out for a run. Kind of stretch our legs, if it's okay." Eliza half asked, half informed. Eliza didn't really need to ask permission, and Isabella had never demanded that she do so. Eliza did so largely out of habit, a comfortable routine for both of them.

Isabella nodded, "Of course it is, just be safe out there, keep aware of your surroundings."

Eliza nodded, the warning was hardly necessary, but Eliza had no intention of ignoring her mother's advice. She headed for the door with Leah in tow. "We will, we'll be back sometime tonight." she said, excitement evident in her voice.

"Take a book bag!" Isabella called out to her daughter. "That way Leah doesn't have to carry her clothes in her mouth, or tied to her leg."

"Yes, Mother!" Eliza called out. Sometimes her mother's ambivalence to the people around her could frustrate Eliza to no end, other times Isabella's thoughtfulness couldn't help but make Eliza grin. This was one of those times she was sure her mother's caring side wasn't as deeply buried as her mother pretended, or would like others to think

Once they were outside Leah grinned at Eliza as they made their way to the woods. "Don't worry; I'll try not to run too fast for you." The whole excursion had been Leah's idea. She had been very nervous about suggesting they do something together with her shifted. She had originally intended to see if Eliza was interested in a normal walk through the woods. But some of the bragging that Eliza had done through the day when they were playing video games had prompted Leah to change her suggestion. Instead of a slow walk, she'd suggested they get out where the playing field was a little more even.

Eliza had seemed completely comfortable with the idea of Leah being a shape shifter, but Leah wasn't sure how Eliza might react to her wolven half, at least as far as "doing things together" went. She had been very pleased when Eliza agreed to do it.

Eliza snorted indelicately, "I'm more worried you'll slow me down" she teased. She was excited about going out and being active. Leah's suggestion had pleased her more than she'd let on. She had given Leah a crash course in video games, and it had gotten both of their competitive juices flowing. When Leah had suggested an even playing field, Eliza had positively leaped at the chance.

Leah grinned widely, "Oh this should be _fun."_

When they made it into the line of trees obscuring their vision from the house, Eliza stopped. "This is as good a place as any."

She turned her back politely, while Leah stripped out of her clothes and then dropped them into the book bag Eliza had picked up at the door. Eliza heard the soft crunch and shift of bones and then a soft growl from Leah in wolf form. Eliza turned back and picked up the book bag, slinging it lightly between her shoulder blades.

"Now, let's see who can't keep up!" Eliza grinned at Leah and darted into the trees. Leah immediately gave chase.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening running through the wilderness. To both of their surprise, they discovered they were relatively evenly matched. Eliza found that she was slightly faster shifting directions and turning quickly, and Leah discovered she had the slight advantage in a full out sprint on open land.

The two of them made a game out of the whole thing. They chased each other through the forest and played their own version of tag. Leah would nudge her shoulder or her nose against Eliza and then abruptly change directions. Then Eliza would give chase and run a hand through the top of her fur, or give her a light swat on the side and leap away in a different direction. Both of them seemed to have an absolute blast as they ran and played without a care in the world.

Leah finally made it clear she wanted to do something besides the game they had come up with. She growled gently at Eliza and jerked her head in another direction several times until Eliza got the point that Leah wanted her to follow. Eliza easily followed her lead as they circled back toward home. Eliza didn't bother to ask where they were headed since Leah obviously wouldn't be able to answer. Finally, they slowed down and Eliza began to smell the salt of the ocean.

Leah came to a stop on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and a long rocky beach. The area was rocky but Eliza was more than impressed by the view. Looking out they could see the waves of the ocean, with the full moon and stars in the cloudless sky. Reflected on the water it made the whole scene positively beautiful. Their enhanced senses made the panorama even more impressive.

Leah nudged her head against Eliza's shoulder, looking meaningfully at the bag Eliza still carried. Eliza slid it off her shoulders and handed it to Leah, still gazing at the gorgeous tableau. Leah took the bag in her mouth and then trotted into the woods before returning a minute later wearing short jean shorts and a grey top, delectably human again, at least in Eliza's eyes.

Leah stood quietly beside Eliza, setting the empty book bag down. "I love this spot. Whenever I'm home I come up here. I like the view when there's a full blown thunderstorm going or when there's a rare clear night like tonight." she murmured quietly. She kept her tone quiet as an almost unconscious gesture of respect to the peaceful night and view.

"It's... so beautiful." Eliza whispered quietly in return. She was just as struck by the scene. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen a more beautiful view in her life, more so because of the company that brought her to this place in the first place.

Leah smiled shyly and hesitantly reached out to take Eliza's hand. She was grateful when Eliza slipped her fingers easily into Leah's own. "The rest of the pack has seen it in my mind. I know some of them come up here from time to time, but they usually leave the spot alone when I'm around. You're... the first person I've ever shown this to intentionally. The first person I've ever actually brought up here."

Eliza squeezed Leah's hand gently and shifted her weight lightly to settle in against her. "Thank you. This is wonderful." She turned to meet Leah's eyes with a shy smile.

Leah was already looking at her, her dark brown eyes meeting Eliza's deep violet ones. She tilted her head slightly and moved closer, watching Eliza's expression carefully for any sign of disapproval. Leah was thrilled when she saw nervousness, but excitement as well. She leaned in to kiss Eliza and then something on her visions periphery caught her eye, so she stopped and tilted her body to the side to get a closer look at the beach below.

Eliza had closed her eyes, but opened them again with a frown as she saw Leah no longer moving to kiss her but instead looking at something behind and below her. Eliza immediately felt offended, wondering what could be so important as to interrupt this moment. But before she could protest, Leah gripped her shoulders and turned her around to face the beach below as well.

Eliza turned just in time to see four figures emerge from the frothy tide, who half walked, half stumbled out of the water to join a fifth already on the beach. A woman had already emerged before Eliza was turned around, and she was joined by three other women, and a male. Two of the women were blond, one had darker blond hair, and one had dark brown hair. The male had short black hair.

Eliza frowned, and felt Leah stiffen behind her. "Vampires." Leah whispered softly.

Eliza nodded, crouching down behind a rock to watch. The movement of the vampires seemed rushed, and both Leah and Eliza strained to hear them talking.

"Quickly, we must get to the Cullen's. Their house is not far from here!" The blond woman, who had first emerged, said.

"We have to wait!" Insisted another blond woman, "I know Garrett and he won't be far behind."

The woman with slightly darker blond hair chimed in, "She's right, they're both not far from here."

The woman who'd spoken originally nodded slightly, crossing her arms to wait, though her look and bearing was clearly one of worry and impatience.

They didn't have to wait long, Eliza and Leah both turned their head as they heard the pattering of feet on water soaked sand. They saw two more figures running down the coast line where the water met the sand. These two were male, and they quickly joined the group who'd had just come ashore. One of the males had brown hair and was holding his left shoulder as he ran. The other male had a darker complexion and dreadlocks.

"Did you lose them?" The blonde woman, who had first spoken, asked urgently.

One of the men who had just arrived shook his head, "No, I don't think so. They have some sort of tracker and three or four fucking wolves. We managed to slow them down by running through some obstacles. I ran them into a mini-avalanche but probably only gave us half an hour at most. It won't slow them for long."

"Quickly, we have to get to the Cullen's house. We need to warn them. We can try to run together." The first woman spoke and then turned and took off through the forest. There was no more discussion as the others followed her.

Eliza turned to look at Leah. "Shift, you need to let the pack know something's happening."

Leah nodded, though she took a quick moment to begin stripping off her clothes, without bothering to retreat a distance this time.

Eliza quickly spun around before she got more than an eyeful of bared midriff. _**"Mother, something's going on."**_Eliza said urgently on her mental link. Her face would have blushed were she human; the image of Leah's bared mid-riff was in her mind.

_**"Dear, you are far too old for any sort of birds and bees explanation." **_ Isabella's voice thought back to her, her tone amused as she perceived Eliza's emotions and the image currently in her daughter's mind.

If possible Eliza's face would have turned even redder, she wasn't sure which embarrassed her more. The fact that she was embarrassed and Leah's form had so easily stuck in her head, or the fact that her mother knew about it. "_"Mother! I'm serious!" _At any other time Eliza would have rejoiced at her mother making a joke.

_**"What's happening?"**_ Isabella's voice replied to Eliza calmly, without teasing her daughter further.

_**"Seven vampires just showed up on the coast. They're headed for the Cullen's house." **_Eliza stated, hearing a wolf howl in the distance.

_**"Some kind of attack?"**_Isabella asked.

_**"No, they're going to warn the Cullen's. They're running from something."**_ Eliza said, replaying the recent memory in her mind so her mother could see. She tried to leave out the lead up and the almost kiss with Leah, but failed. Fortunately her mother either ignored it or chose to reserve comment for a more opportune time.

_**"I see. Come home now, I don't know what's going on but I'd rather not be caught off guard here." **_Isabella replied , her mental voice thoughtful.

_**"Okay, I'm on my... no… wait a second."**_ Eliza stopped with a frown. She watched down on the coast in the same spot the first group of vampires had emerged, someone else began to emerge. It was a dark haired male walking up and out of the water. Then one by one more heads began to emerge from the water. Eliza's eyes widened in shock as she watched head after head emerge from the water, until the number on the beach totaled almost thirty.

_**"Whoa."**_Eliza thought, sharing her initial reaction. Leah whined in shock at the same time, and one of the vampires who'd just emerged turned to frown in the direction of their spot. Eliza didn't waste any time. She cloaked them both immediately, leading to a bigger whine from Leah, and Eliza realized she'd cut her off from the pack too.

"I'm sorry, I cloaked us." Eliza murmured. Leah shook her head as Eliza spoke with Isabella again. _**"Mom, there's like 30 vampires that just showed up on shore here. They look and smell like mostly newborns. Though I must say, **__**the entrance was a lot better done in Pirates of the Caribbean. **__**Also, is Rachel still at the house with you?"**_Eliza asked as she again replayed the events of the last few minutes in her mind for her mother's benefit.

_**"Save the movie critic audition for later. She's right here; she's shifted and whining like crazy. What are the vampires doing?" **_Isabella asked, her calm voice taking on the hard edge that Eliza was familiar with.

_**"Tell her to let the pack know that Leah is all right, I've just got us cloaked right now, and I don't know how to let their pack connection in and out yet. As for the vampires, they're still getting their bearings."**_Eliza said to her mother. Then she turned to Leah. "I told Mom, to have Rachel let the pack know that you're okay, I've got us cloaked."

Leah seemed to relax slightly as they returned to staring at the group below. Eliza connected to her mother again, and let Isabella see through her eyes and ears as they observed the activity below.

The dark haired vampire who'd emerged from the water first crossed his arms and seemed to look up the coast expectantly. One of the vampires who'd followed looked around. "What are we waiting for? We don't want them to get away!"

The dark haired vampire shook his head, "They won't. They've slowed to a stop. I never lose the sense of someone. We're just going to wait for the rest of the group. They're coming down the coast now. They'll be here in two minutes. We will rip the Denali yellow eyes to shreds." There were feral growls and mutters and even a few shouts of agreement from the mob of newborns.

"What about the wolves?" Another one asked.

The dark haired vampire who seemed to be the de facto leader frowned a little bit. "They're farther behind, a few minutes more at most."

_**"Interesting."**_Isabella's voice mused thoughtfully. _**"It must have been the Denali coven who showed up first. We've never been introduced. though you may recall we saw them and they saw us in Calgary a few years ago."**_

_**"Oh, I remember them..."**_Eliza replied. The memory of she and her mother exiting the burning remains of an abandoned fitness center, where they'd tracked a vampire causing problems. They had seen the Denali as they'd left. Eliza clearly remembered two of the women and two of the men. She never would have made the connection given their state as they emerged from the water. _**"The whole drowned chic look threw me." **_Eliza said blandly, somewhere in heaven she thought, Versace was shedding a single perfect tear

She trailed off when she saw movement to the north, coming down the coast. This time she couldn't keep her own gasp of surprise to herself. There were another twenty or so vampires rushing down as a group to join with the first one. They slowed to a stop and joined the other group.

The dark haired vampire who seemed to be the de facto leader frowned a little bit. "You didn't manage to kill yours."

One of the vampires that had just joined spoke up, "No, we managed to hurt one, but they got away from us. A small avalanche caused us a few minutes delay.''

"Where are the wolves?" The dark haired one frowned looking around.

"Those six mutts can't run along the coast. Too many stretches where the water is deep enough to make running impossible. They shouldn't be too far behind probably a few minutes more." The vampire replied. "Then we can slaughter the yellow eyes." This prompted eager growls from the large group surrounding them.

_**"What are we going to do Mother?"**_Eliza asked. _**"We can't just let them slaughter a coven."**_

_**"Of course not."**_Isabella's voice replied in a slightly distracted tone. There was almost a full minute's pause before Isabella's voice spoke again._**"Here's the plan. I just told Rachel. The Quileutes are going to head north and cut off the wolves so we don't have to deal with them. Things will get a lot messier if we do. I'll head to the Cullen's and meet you there."**_

_**"I'll send Leah up to meet up with them once we're away from here. You're going to get the Cullen's to fight with us? Also, bring me something to wear. I'm not fighting in jeans and a tank top."**_Eliza asked as she gestured for Leah to follow her, snatching up the book bag as they moved away from the area circling north.

_**"Not a chance. You know they'd just be in the way."**_Isabella replied, a slightly harsh note to her voice.

_**"We're never had this many newborns to deal with before."**_Eliza said, though she couldn't stop a grin from crossing her face. Her protest was merely a token one of common sense and both she and her mother knew it.

_**"I know. But if we let them help we'll spend more of the fight avoiding them and trying to make sure they're okay than actually fighting. I was more concerned with the wolves involvement."**_Isabella's reply was a half sigh, though Eliza joined her in wordless agreement.

_**"What do you mean?"**_ Eliza asked as she moved, careful to stay close to Leah so there was no chance of either one of them slipping out of the small area she'd cloaked.

**"**_**You and I are good at killing vampires. That's what we're experienced doing. I learned the hard way in the sewers that we aren't prepared to face wolves."**_ Isabella replied her tone still calm.

_**"They're not tougher or stronger than us!"**_ Eliza replied, actually sounding shocked at the idea, even more so that her mother might be suggesting it.

_**"No, they're not. But they've evolved to fight us. Blunt force trauma doesn't work with them. Their species are natural wrestlers. I could punch one of them as hard as possible in their wolf form and it would go flying, maybe be stunned for a second or two. If I was lucky I would manage to crack a bone here or there. Impacts don't do much more than that. If we manage to get our arms around them and have enough leverage to crush we can do plenty of damage to incapacitate. It's managing to do that while contending with the other wolves and vampires that concerns me."**_ Isabella replied.

_**"Sounds like you've been giving this some thought before now."**_ Eliza said.

_**"Since the other night in the sewer. It's not about being able to beat them. It's about knowing how, and that's experience we don't have yet. That's why I've asked Jacob to head them off. They can take care of the wolf problem, especially if it's only four or five."**_ Isabella responded

_**"Asked Jacob to head them off, or ordered him?"**_ Eliza replied her voice teasing despite the seriousness of the situation

_**"ToMAYto, ToMAHto. We'll talk about it later. I'll see you in a few minutes."**_ Isabella replied, her tone making it clear the conversation was over for the time being.

Eliza dropped her cloak after they were safely away from the coast. Leah let out a soft whine of surprise as she skidded to a stop. Then she growled in protest as someone in the pack obviously filled her in on the plan via the pack mind.

Eliza leaned forward and put her head against Leah's. "I know. But I promise. I'll be fine. The pack is going to need your help though. You're the fastest one they have, and they're shorthanded with Paul and Seth out of action."

Leah growled then whined in acknowledgement. She stepped back and then quickly licked Eliza's face, not waiting for a reaction before darting off to the north to join her pack.

Eliza shook her head slowly and then took off again toward the east, toward the Cullen household.'

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**Author's notes:**

**1) Yay! chapter O_O**

**2) Sorry there wasn't any Alice at all in this chapter. I didn't see them as taking it quickly. But don't worry... it won't take another 20 chapters till the next one. We are however getting ready to head into some serious stuff for the next few chapters, so it may not be a focus for a little bit... Strap yourselves in...it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Woooohoo!**

**3) DarkBella's author's notes: I can't think of any!**

**4) She's too busy doing some amazing edits and thought provoking stuff in this story! And generally being awesome and cool all around.**

**5) Please read and review! It really does encourage me to write more to know other people are enjoying it! I do read them. I'm a bit behind in replies at the moment but i'll be catching up now that I've got this chapter up!**

**Next chapter... "There's an eye-opener, and no mistake!" **


	25. Let Slip The Dogs of War

**~Chapter 25~**

**I'm angry, I'm ragin', I'm breakin' through the pain.**

**The monster is loose and now, you know the truth.**

**Tell me can you feel it as you hit the wall?**

**The monster is loose and now, you have to choose.**

**And prove that you can take it to the top before you fall.**

Alice was sitting in the living room of the Cullen home. She had spent most of the day alternating between being furious and floating on cloud nine. The knowledge of what Edward had told Isabella still infuriated her. She wasn't good enough? Alice couldn't figure out why he would tell Bella something so hurtful. Those weren't the words of someone trying to give her the best chance at moving on with her life. Those words were intentionally hurtful to Bella.

When she wasn't stewing on how angry she was at Edward, Alice was at the opposite end of the spectrum. She'd been so hurt after the initial conversation with Bella. She'd stumbled upon her scent by accident the evening before and had briefly considered avoiding Bella, giving her the space she so clearly desired. In the end Alice couldn't resist going to speak to her. She had been totally prepared for another curt dismissal. No one could have been more surprised than Alice when Bella told her she could stay. Well, Bella hadn't really said that at first. She'd sort of acquiesced via her failure to protest... but it was better than the "fuck off" Alice had expected.

Alice had gotten to say what she had wanted to for so long. She had gotten to apologize to Bella. Their ensuing discussion was enlightening if nothing else. Bella hadn't gone so far as to forgive her, but she had agreed to an attempt at friendship. Alice was determined that there was no way she was going to screw it up this time. The night before worked out far better than she'd ever hoped.

She'd avoided the house for most of the day. If Edward picked up her thoughts and confronted her about them, she wasn't sure what she'd end up saying to him. Edward had been explicit in telling all of the family that they shouldn't go near Bella until the two of them could "patch things up." Well, he'd told everyone but Emmett and Alice. Every time Alice got a vision of Edward coming to talk to her she made herself scarce. While she was absent the previous evening, Emmett had apparently told Edward off; an action that surprised Alice. An action that also apparently drove Rosalie wild. The two of them had barely been out of their bedroom all day.

Alice was currently focusing on the videogame Emmett was playing. Rosalie was apparently in the shower; and Alice knew Edward wanted to talk to her one on one, she knew he wouldn't approach while they were gathered like this. She'd been careful not to let her thoughts drift to Isabella, with Edward still seething from his encounter the day before. The entire family was in the living room, except Esme and Adara who were off feeding, though they were expected back soon, and Rosalie who was just making her way downstairs, a very satisfied smile on her face.

Alice suddenly gasped and straightened, her eyes going blank for a few seconds. Carlisle and Jasper both looked up from the books they were reading, and Emmett paused his game. After so many years they all knew the signs of one of Alice's visions. She gradually focused again, her eyes and expression startled.

"What is it Alice?" Jasper asked.

Edward who pre-empted her, having read Alice's vision out of her mind, "It's the Denali Clan, they're coming."

Carlisle smiled and stood up, "That's wonderful news, when will they arrive?"

Alice shook her head, "No... They'll be here tonight, very soon. But they're... running from something. They're scared. I don't know why. I can't see it. Garrett is hurt."

Carlisle frowned and closed his book, setting it aside. "Rosalie could you-" He was cut off by Edward.

"They're almost here. I can read their minds. They're... terrified. They're being chased by a... " Edward blinked, his expression shocked. "They're being chased by an army of newborns and wolves."

"Rosalie, call Adara or Esme, get them back here." Carlisle commanded.

"They're here." Edward announced, just before their front door slammed open wide, without the harbinger of a knock, and seven vampires ran into the home.

The Cullens were stunned by the distressed appearance of their visitors. Tanya, the blonde leader, was looking around frantically as if glad to see the group. Behind her was the dark haired Carmen and her mate Eleazar was close upon her heels. The blond haired Kate and her mate Garrett came in together. The darker blonde Irina and her mate, Laurent entered a half second later. Their clothing was ripped and torn, still drenched and dripping water. Before Carlisle could speak, Tanya spoke up.

"Carlisle, you have to get out of here. There's a newborn army on its way; and they intend to kill us all." Tanya said desperately.

"We know Tanya, Alice and Edward saw." Carlisle attempted a calming tone.

"No, you don't understand, it's a bigger army than I've ever seen or heard of." Tanya said urgently.

Jasper spoke up, "How many are in this army?" He asked his question while sending everyone a wave of pure calm in an effort to soothe the room.

"We counted between fifty and sixty. Plus they're working with wolves. Quand on parle du loup." The uninjured Laurent said, lapsing into his native French for a moment out of frustration. His French accent was tinged with both fear and disgust. He was a darker skinned vampire, wearing dreadlocks, more than a hint of predator about him.

Jasper's jaw dropped open. "Laurent... Fifty? That's... insane. There hasn't been an army _near_ that size since the Volturi put down the rebellions 200 years ago Anyone with that many is just begging for the Volturi to step in and destroy them."

Tanya spoke urgently, Jasper 's wave of calm only taking the worst of the edge off of her near-panic. "We have to go; they could be here any minute."

Carlisle shook his head, "We can't leave without Adara and Esme." He looked at Rosalie who was just hanging up the phone.

Rosalie shook her head, "No answer, probably no reception. They should be back any time though." She glanced at Emmett with a very irritated look on her face. Alice briefly wondered if Rosalie was more pissed off about her 'plans' for the evening being ruined than she was the possibility of being attacked. "Elle en mouille pour lui," Alice thought, stifling a giggle. Edward scowled at her, reading her thoughts and not approving of the moment of levity, but she pointedly ignored his glare. It served him right for reading her mind.

"We can't wait." said Garrett, his injuries obviously affecting his movements as he shifted around. "If we stay here, they'll destroy us. They're obsessed. The way they chased us, they had no concern for self preservation. All they cared about was trying to get to us and kill us."

"We won't leave without my entire family." Carlisle answered, his tone final.

Jasper spoke up. "We can run when they get back."

"Run where?" Rosalie said, "Just keep running with an army on our tail?" The scorn of following that sort of plan plain in her voice.

Jasper shook his head. "There's no way we can defeat numbers like those."

Alice had gone silent for a moment, her face blank before she snapped back to reality, cursing. Everyone turned to look at her. "Esme and Adara are on their way back, but everything just went blank."

Carlisle frowned, "The wolves interfering with your visions again?"

Alice frowned, but any response was cut off by a sudden and surprisingly gentle knock on the glass of the back door. The entire house turned as one where a black hooded figure politely rapped on the door. Crouched on the handrail of the back porch behind her was another black clad form, facing away from the house.

"Mon dieu! Gendarmes!" Laurent exclaimed, "fils de salope."

"Who the hell is that?" Tanya asked laconically, surprised by the new arrival and Laurent's outburst.

"Volturi." Eleazar said in a calm murmur as he frowned at the two figures. He suddenly stiffened and let out a small gasp, rocking back on his heels in surprise, openly staring.

"What is it, Eleazar?" asked Carmen, concerned at the expression on her mate's face.

"A large coven in Italy, but that's not important right now," Eleazar deadpanned. Carmen blinked in surprise and then swatted his arm lightly, in no mood for his attempts at humor at the moment.

"It's okay, we know her, you're right, she's a member of the Volturi." Carlisle said, though he frowned at Eleazar's reaction. Eleazar had been a member of the Volturi at one point, but he left after meeting Carmen. They had joined the Denali coven, after they'd left the Volturi with the blessing of Aro; Eleazar had no difficulties interacting with the Volturi since.

Jasper made it to the door before anyone else, opening it. Eliza pulled back her hood as he answered the door and grinned. "Hey, sorry to drop in uninvited."

Jasper couldn't help smiling, stepping back to let Eliza in. The other figure kept her back to the house as she crouched on the railing and made no move to enter the house. When Eliza stepped in and violet eyes met those of the new arrivals, the entire group let out a small gasp, and Tanya spoke up first. "The Executioner."

The Cullens were confused, but Eliza just shrugged. "I prefer Eliza rather than being burdened with the nomenclature of a truly _horrid_ series of books, or a lame X-Men villain, but whatever floats your boat."

Jasper was the first to get past his puzzlement. "Sorry, we don't have a lot of time. The Denali's have a huge number of newborns following them, and they could be here any minute."

Eliza nodded, "We know."

Jasper blinked and Carlisle spoke up. "There's 50 or so of them. Far more than we're able to handle. They also have wolves with them."

Eliza shook her head. "No, they don't."

Garrett stepped forward, despite the restraining arm of his mate around his waist, his voice growling. Normally he didn't lose his temper so easily, but the night had been a long one for him and his frustration was mounting."Young lady, I can assure you there are. We saw them."

"Yes, you did. But they're not here now. And they won't be here." Eliza grinned.

"What do you mean?" Edward finally asked scowling. He seemed to do that a lot lately, Eliza noted. Despite the serious situation, he seemed unable to get past his distaste for Eliza.

Eliza looked as if she were thinking of something clever to say then Isabella snapped from outside, "For once in your sorry life just shut the hell up Edward." Eliza gave Edward a taunting smirk at her mother's comment.

"Eliza." Isabella's voice called out again seriously.

Eliza rolled her eyes, and looked back at the group her voice going from sarcastic to overly sweet. "If you'd be so kind as to stay in here, we'll take care of this."

"You want us to stay in here? You're going to handle all of them by yourselves?" Edward stated, looking puzzled, still smarting from Isabella's casual dismissal.

Eliza sighed and rolled her eyes again, turning her head, obviously addressing Isabella. "You were right, the absolute grasp of the obvious some of these people have is breathtaking." She shook her head before turning and going back outside to join her mother.

She stood next to the rail looking out at the forest. "How do you want to handle this one?" She asked her voice turning serious for a moment.

"I'm still working it out." Isabella admitted, her eyes searching the trees slowly. Her mind was flitting through possibilities and strategy, trying to come up with an effective plan that also allowed for the possibilities of wolves somehow making it through to join the battle.

"Excuse me." Carlisle stepped out to join them.

"Stay in the house." Isabella's voice said coldly without turning around.

"The safety and survival of our family is all of our concern." Carlisle protested stubbornly.

Isabella whipped her head around, but kept her position crouched on the railing. She pulled back her hood to fix Carlisle with a glare. "You're right. It is your concern. The best thing you can do for them is shut up and get inside."

"Don't you dare speak down to him!" snarled Edward's voice as he stepped up to glare at Isabella.

Isabella didn't even bother glancing his way as she addressed Carlisle, her red eyes slowly darkening to a obsidian black as they burned intently into his. "Let me put it this way. You step out of this house to intervene before the fight is over, or we're both dead, and you become one of the enemy." She paused to then glare at Edward, "And if I want anything out of you I'll just squeeze your head until it bursts."

She didn't even bother to wait for a response turning to look back at the woods focusing her attention again. It was several moments later when she heard Carlisle retreating back to the house, pulling a resistant Edward with him.

Eliza spoke after a few moments, stretching out her senses for any sign of approach. "You know... it's a larger group than usual, but we could always try showing them a shiny object." Her voice sounded serious.

Isabella turned to regard her with a disapproving frown for several long moments. "Amazing," Her voice dripping sarcasm.

"Distractions tend to work well against groups. We've used it before." Eliza said defensively.

Isabella shook her head. "I'm not irritated at that. It's you distilling 'constant distraction of the enemy provides opportunity,' from a major principle of Sun Tzu's 'Art of War', down to 'shiny object.'"

Eliza sniffed with mock arrogance. "I said the same thing, just more to the point. I didn't need a few hundred pages to say it."

Isabella sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. She managed a smile before finally nodding slowly. "It's a good strategy. Let me guess. You want to be the shiny object?"

"I'm way better at it than you." Eliza snorted, "Besides unless you've got a better idea, it's our best bet."

Isabella shook her head. "No. I don't have anything better. Where do you want to do this?"

"Best place is in the clearing right here." Eliza replied.

"Okay, I'll position myself in the trees and remain cloaked. What're you going to do?" Isabella asked curiously.

Eliza grinned wide. "I dunno, I'll figure something out. I know you love it when I improvise."

Isabella sighed giving her daughter one final glance before she nodded and launched herself off the porch to the ground below and sprung into the trees.

Eliza watched her mother go and looked around slowly. Her eyes came to rest on an old straw broom, leaning against the side of the house and she grinned as an idea came to her.

She turned around and walked back into the house. Carlisle was examining Garrett's injury and he looked up, surprised. Most of the rest of the eyes of the house were already staring at her.

"Sorry! Just need to borrow something!" She walked right over the fireplace looking at it for a few brief moments before she snatched a pack of matches off the mantle. "Thanks!" she said before she left again. The entire group watched her in stunned silence.

Eliza snatched the broom and checked to make sure the straw was dry. Once Eliza was satisfied she walked out to the center of the field to wait, keeping her senses alert.

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"Are we really going to let them get themselves killed?" Alice demanded watching Eliza walk out with the matches. Adara and Esme had returned just after Isabella half threatened, half warned Carlisle. They were quickly filled in on the situation.

"There's no way they're going to do anything other than slow them down for a few minutes, if we're lucky." Jasper asserted.

Tanya shook her head slowly. "I...I'm not sure... I've been hearing rumors and stories for years about them."

Carlisle frowned, and tilted his head curiously. "What do you mean?"

"The Volturi have always had a habit of collecting powerful members. I know you're all aware of the 'witch twins" Jane and Alec." Kate said, looking around, seeing nods of confirmation. "Well, rumors have been floating around about a new set of twins they have. The Assassin and the Executioner. I've never heard them referred to any other way. Up until very recently anytime there's unrest it's always those two names popping up. They kill quickly and without mercy."

Tanya nodded and expounded. "We saw them once about 20 years ago. There was a vampire in Juneau, starting leaving a mess. We went to investigate because it was getting close to our home. We tracked them down only to find those two in Volturi robes leaving an old gym on fire."

"How do you know it was those two the rumors are about?"Emmett interjected..

Tanya smiled without a trace of mirth. "I know because of the description I've heard. It's very basic. 'The black eyes of the Assassin and the violet eyes of the Executioner.' I saw their eyes that night. Black and purple. I've heard that they're scary enough even other Volturi are uneasy around them."

"Anyone's eyes can be black." Edward scoffed and shook his head.

"No. Not like that. Not just the irises, the entire eye. It was like there was nothing there." Tanya shuddered a little bit.

"And then there are their abilities." Eleazar's voice was quiet as he stood watching the figure of Eliza in the field.

"What do you mean, love?" asked Carmen moving beside her mate. It was a known fact Eleazar had the ability to sense the abilities of others. He could tell what a vampire was capable of by being in close proximity to them.

"I mean I've never seen abilities like theirs. I can't even tell you what each one does. Their auras are all jumbled up together. Different colors flashing at different times. I will tell you, the one who stayed on the porch has... a great darkness inside of her. It's unlike anything I've ever seen, and I have no idea what it means." Eleazar's shoulders slumped slightly as his description got more and more confusing.

Edward suddenly spun around to stare out at the glass. "They're coming. There's... a lot of them." He frowned deeply. "They're all thinking the same thing. 'Kill the Denali. Kill the yellow-eyes. Over and over. They think of nothing else..." He winced and put his hands to his head, the refrain making him flinch in pain.

"We're sorry we led them to you." Tanya said quietly to Carlisle.

"Nonsense. No matter what happens, our families stand together." Carlisle said as he turned to stare out the window. "Besides... I think those two may have a trick or two up their sleeves."

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Eliza was standing in the middle of the small meadow, her senses alert, but she couldn't help grinning. She was always excited before a battle. The ocean air was blowing inward so she knew they vampires weren't close yet.

_**"Eliza, I'm just to the north of you. Jacob's here."**_ Isabella's voice rang in her head. **"**_**They took care of the wolves coming down. Though he wants to talk about it afterwards." **_

_**"Is... Leah okay?" **_Eliza couldn't help herself from asking.

Her mother's voice chuckled dryly. **"**_**She's just fine. I've told Jacob to wait in the north until they attack then to circle around behind the newborns. The pack is going to catch the ones breaking and running away. He's promised not to interfere unless one of us whistles."**_

_**"It smells like the vampires got tired of waiting. They're getting closer." **_Eliza said seriously.

_**"I'm just about in position and ready." **_Isabella responded, her voice flat.

Eliza waited a few moments and felt her mother draw on her power, cloaking herself. With them this close she was barely conscious of it, and it didn't distract her or hurt her in the slightest. She waited until she heard the first movements in the distant underbrush before she lit a match and set the straw of the broom on fire. Eliza then stood there with it burning, holding it out in front of her like a staff.

_**"What on earth are you doing?" **_Isabella's thoughts echoed in her daughter's mind.

_**"Re-enacting a classic." **_Eliza responded holding the broom up as figures emerged from the forest. The group stopped when they came across this odd sight.

Eliza watched them silently as the group's numbers swelled behind him. The leader smirked and began to stride forward again, his group right behind him. _**"This would be so much more effective if I were wearing grey instead of black." **_

Eliza waited until she thought most, or all of the group had entered the clearing. Then she lifted the broom above her head with her arms spread wide and shouted with a voice that could probably be heard for a mile. **"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"** and cracked the end of the broom down in front of her for emphasis.

_**"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me**__…" _Eliza heard her mother's reaction and couldn't help but smile. However, it had the desired effect. The advancing group stopped in surprise. There were several bewildered looks. None of the approaching mob seemed to know what to make of the seemingly crazy vampire wielding a burning broom.

Isabella took immediate advantage of their confusion and hesitation as she struck the group from above and behind. Her attack was sudden as a lightning bolt. Six vampires were headless before anyone realized they were under attack. Another three lost their heads as the first shouts of shock were heard from the back of the ranks. The leader and most of the vampires in front spun around at the sudden sounds of attack and death.

The dark haired male in the lead instantly realized his mistake and spun back around; just in time to see Eliza's fist as it parted his head completely from his body. The fight was on.

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"What the hell is she doing?" Rosalie asked as she watched the girl set fire to the broom she had taken. Her question was a general one but it was mostly directed at Jasper, but his look was just as puzzled as anyone else. The approaching newborns weren't the only ones questioning the sanity of the vampire in the clearing.

"I have no clue…" Jasper admitted.

They all watched in stunned silence when they heard the shouted phrase. No one understood, until Emmet started chuckling under his breath, a chuckle that broke out into a laugh as he understood. More than one person glanced to him as if to ask him to explain the joke, but their thoughts were derailed by the beginning of the fight below.

The astonished Cullens and Denali watched from above. Eliza and Isabella were circling the suddenly off balance group of vampires, disappearing and reappearing hitting or kicking and then disappearing again, without any discernible rhyme or reason. Both families stood at the back window and watched. Ready to fight or run the instant the army broke through.

"Holy..." Emmett said in breathless shock. He was disappointed at missing this fight, but secretly found it damned entertaining.

"Have you ever seen anyone move so fast?" Rosalie asked Carlisle. Carlisle just shook his head slowly, transfixed.

Jasper was frowning as he watched the battle. He was able to better follow it than the rest of the group, because they apparently weren't cloaking their emotions during battle, either intentionally or unintentionally. Even he was amazed at the speed of the performance before him. He watched them both with fascination. Rage seemed to course through Isabella, practically exploding out of her each time she struck. Eliza was angry, but only partially, she was equally excited. Jasper was astonished; she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Jasper frowned, becoming distracted by the emotions Alice was feeling. He kept peeking at her out of the corner of his eye. He could feel her worry and a growing sense of sorrow she could not wholly conceal.

Alice was pressed up against the glass, one hand on the window as she stared at the fight. Her eyes darted over the engagement, picking out the figure of Isabella each time she appeared following her until she disappeared again. She was worried each time she saw a swipe or random flail almost strike Isabella. However, as she watched Isabella and Eliza move in synchronization, she frowned and a feeling of hurt settling inside her began to grow. The two of them were so _perfect_ together. Bella had obviously found her mate. How could she ever hope to compete?

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Less than one minute into the battle the element of surprise and the confusion had rendered fully half of the newborns incapacitated. The loss of their leader kept them from organizing an effective resistance. But as surprise wore off, the attacks from Eliza and Isabella became less effective. They weren't less accurate; the attacks were blocked or dodged more often.

Isabella fought with cold precision, striking hard and fast in quick movements. Each strike delivered with a force that was calculated to inflict the most amount of pain and damage as possible, before moving on to the next strike. Her demeanor was completely detached, never showing any emotion. Despite the blank mask she wore, she was consumed by a cold rage that threatened to consume her. She fought like a machine, utterly aware of her surroundings, continually searching for the next place to strike. Each blow that connected, punishing it's victim, making them share her pain. The occasional lucky strike or blow coming from a quick newborn made her grunt, and occasionally roll with it. She didn't bother remembering who hit her, just accepted and absorbed the occasional physical punishment then moved on to her next attack.

Eliza was the exact opposite. Her movements were no less effective or devastating than Isabella's but she fought with a verve and energy that Isabella didn't. Her movements seemed more fluid than Isabella's. At times it seemed like a complicated dance. Eliza seemed to be dancing to music only she could hear as she darted and twisted between the vampires. There was a savage beauty to her movements. Eliza showed emotion as she moved, she grinned or laughed occasionally after a particularly effective blow. When someone struck her, they immediately became her next target. One vampire got lucky, punching her stomach, and was rewarded moments later when Eliza caught both of his wrists and ripped his arms off.

In a way their disparate fighting styles reflected their personalities, Eliza almost joyful in her hedonistic violence, Isabella sharing the pain which defined her. Despite the differences in their approach, the two of them were perfect compliments to one another. Every move both of them made seemed to be synchronized. A push from Eliza, would send one vampire stumbling forward right into the striking fist of Isabella. A trip from Isabella would cause another vampire to stumble into a neighbor, giving Eliza a perfect opportunity to kill both while they were distracted.

Their instinctive communication, their ability to disappear and reappear and the fact they were just plain faster, stronger, and more flexible than the vampires they were facing made it an uneven battle at best. If the newborns had achieved organization or cohesiveness, the attack wouldn't have been so devastating. They had been ready to attack a larger coven, not two fighters. They just weren't prepared for such focused primal violence. Four minutes into the fight the attackers (Though this begged the question… who was really being attacked) were reduced to slightly more than a dozen.

One of the vampires was fortunate enough to grasp Isabella's cloak. She felt herself jerked back mid-leap and slammed to the ground. She immediately rolled to the side to avoid the stomp of the foot smashing the ground where her body had just been. She jerked her arms out of the cloak, shredding it easily, and freeing herself. She swept her foot out, tripping the vampire who'd grabbed her and then followed it up with her foot slamming into the back of his neck, separating it from his shoulders. She stood up, and felt an explosion of pain in her shoulder, just as she heard a cry of surprise and pain from Eliza.

She turned as she saw three vampires forcing her face down to the ground. One was biting her shoulder while the other two had her waist and legs in deadly embraces. Isabella snarled and attacked the three vampires before they had a chance to react in any way. She kicked one of the two off Eliza's back then smashing the head off the one with her arms wrapped around Eliza's legs with incensed brute force. Isabella pulled the vampire with his teeth in Eliza's shoulder away from her and with a loud roar of rage quite literally ripped him in half. She tossed the legs away and then seemingly, just for the hell of it, ripped off his head.

Eliza didn't waste any time recovering, throwing herself on the nearest vampire who was still stunned by the sheer ferocity of Isabella just seconds earlier. Isabella didn't stop to ask if she was okay, slamming into two more newborns. The remaining vampires, tried to rush Isabella at once. She leapt, disappearing mid air.

The vampires looked around in confusion, but they didn't wait long as she reappeared behind them repeating her first maneuver and four of the remaining seven died before they realized what was happening. The other three died noisily within seconds. Two fell to Isabella, the third from an attack he didn't even see coming as Eliza hit him from the side.

Eliza looked around at the devastation they had wrought. Pieces of fifty plus bodies scattered across the meadow, all turning shades of grey. For several seconds she just basked in the sheer thrill of the fight they'd just had. The moment passed quickly and Eliza turned to her mother in confusion. "Why didn't any of them run?"

Isabella opened her mouth to remind her daughter what newborns were usually like, but then reconsidered. Yes they were used as cannon fodder, but when things were going like they just had, instincts for self preservation should have kicked in. "I don't know." She looked around at the scattered parts of bodies over the clearing, and thought for a moment it had seemed… almost too easy.

Isabella dismissed her thoughts as she looked up and saw the figure of a dark red colored wolf padding into the clearing, followed by a smaller grey wolf. The bigger wolf growled and gave a whine as he looked around. "Go home and get clothes Jacob. Then come back. We have to talk about this. This was a big deal."

Eliza smiled at the familiar form of the smaller wolf. "Go get clothes, I'm okay." The smaller wolf looked at her before turning and sprinting off quickly.

Eliza turned to look back at the house, both families were filing out. Their movements seemed both excited and cautious as they approached the field.

Isabella was kicking over the body of one of the larger vampires, shaking her head. Isabella then took a few steps and picked up the remains of the burning broom. She held it in her hands as she turned to Eliza. "Seriously? Lord of the Rings?

Eliza sniffed haughtily at Isabella's sarcastic tone, "I've waited forever to do that. Seriously, who's more awesome than Ian Mckellan in that scene?" She kept one eye on the approach of the Cullen and Denali as they looked around at all the headless bodies.

Isabella rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop a small smile from crossing her face. "You went with Gandalf as a distraction. You are such a geek sometimes."

Eliza laughed and shook her head slightly, "This from someone who quotes Sun Tzu. I bet _he_ never used a burning broom to distract an army before."

Isabella shook her head wryly. "No, for the most part, his sanity wasn't in question." She began looking around on the ground again.

Emmett was the first person to speak up as they stepped through the carnage. He turned to look at Edward with a grin. "Dude, your ex is a bad ass."

Rosalie grinned as she looked around; the grin became a laugh as she saw the scowl crossing Edward's face.

Tanya turned to look at Edward with a look of surprise on her face. " The Execu- I mean, Eliza is your ex?" she asked, a glance at Eliza prompting her to correct herself.

Eliza immediately started making gagging sounds as Edward scowled further and shook his head speaking over Eliza's dramatics. "No, Isabella is my mate. She's the other one."

"God you're not only arrogant but dimwitted aren't you?" Eliza's scornful voice greeted them. "She's not your mate. Get it through your thick skull."

Edward scowled, a low growl escaping from his throat, as they approached "I wasn't talking to you, you arrogant bitch."

Eliza opened her mouth to reply but surprisingly was beaten to the punch by, not one, but several Cullens.

"Edward! You know better than to talk to someone that way!" Esme said in a scolding tone.

"That is no way to talk to a lady." Jasper's voice added immediately, his tone offended. Eliza wondered if he was still smarting from the discussion about southern gentlemen the previous day.

"Dude, maybe it's best not to piss off the two vampires who just took out fifty newborns by themselves… Just a thought" Emmett's reply was full of sarcasm.

Isabella smiled without humor as she slowly shook her head, "It's okay. Edward was never very good when he wasn't controlling those around him. He's just a little slow grasping I'm not, nor will I ever be his. He's really not a bad sort once you get past the arrogance, whining, total dishonesty and lack of anything resembling moral fiber."

Edward scowled at the opinions mounting up around him and wisely choose not to say anything further.

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**Author's notes**

**1) YAY Chapter! **

**2)This chapter was a very frustrating one for us. DarkBella especially. In part because of the chapter and in part because of my own stubbornness. It would have been out earlier but I spent 3 hours dithering over one line of dialogue. Nothing seemed to fit right. And i was just rejecting everything i put out and everything DarkBella put out. I think if she could have, DarkBella would have reached through the computer screen and smacked me. In the end, she found something that fit. Rather than an awkward "clever" line that I was initially going for. **

**It's chapter's like this that drive home just how lucky I've been to find a co-author who can make my writing coherent. And take away my massive over use of the words "that", "little bit", and "curiously" She is absolutely amazing and I have no idea where I'd be without her right now. **

**3) I hope you all agree that Eliza was so... Eliza in this chapter. **

**4) For those of you worried about Mary Sue characters. Don't. I've got stuff coming down the point that will hammer that home :P I was just never all that impressed with newborns. they were so breakable _ Jacob was kinda a smeghead for letting one hurt him. (bonus points if you recognize the reference!)**

**4) DarkBella's author's notes: Wanted people to know that Kathryn and I may be doing another story together very soon. We'll start on it probably before this one is done. **

**5) It's an awesome idea :O **

**6) I hope you liked the chapter! Please read and review! **

**Next Chapter- ****This place is filled with mean ladies!**


	26. Faux Pas and Misdemeanors

**Chapter 26**

**I've walked a slippery road, felt a twitch in my soul**

**Through the wind and the cold with no protection**

**Just one direction, destruction**

**I've paid for all my mistakes, ****takin' all I can take**

**'Til I'm ready to break, I'm feeling vicious**

**And so, outrageous, it breaks us**

**I'm bleedin', still breathin', I'm tearin' through these chains**

Carlisle seemed to be at a momentary loss for words observing the exchange of words between Esme and his family. So it was Tanya who approached Eliza. "I've never seen the like. I… we are in your debt. Thank you for saving us." Her voice was quiet and genuinely grateful. A breeze blew over the clearing from the south as she spoke. Somewhere in the distance, an owl cawed into the night air.

Eliza shrugged, "It's part of why we're -" Eliza stiffened and frowned, sniffing at the air. The sudden breeze carrying a faint scent that both Isabella and Eliza noticed.

Isabella crouched slowly then murmured quietly, "Just one. Go." Eliza promptly vanished, leaving most of the Cullens and Denali astonished. Isabella picked up the matches she had been looking for and stood.

"Where did she go?" Tanya asked, her expression puzzled. She glanced around at the scattered bodies that were in random spots all over the clearing.

Isabella shrugged. "She'll be back shortly." She frowned after a moment and held out her hand. "I apologize for my rudeness. I know we've seen each other before, but Eliza and I were in the middle of rushing from one crisis to the next when we bumped into you in Alaska; and there hardly seemed time tonight. We've not been formally introduced. I'm Isabella Volturi."

Tanya hesitated glancing back at her coven mates before slowly taking Isabella's hand. "I'm Tanya Denali. This is my cove-" She was interrupted by the sound of a female's frightened cry.

Everyone turned to see Eliza holding another vampire in the air by her throat, pinning the struggling girl against a tree. The vampire was a dark haired girl who grabbed desperately at Eliza's hand around her throat.

The girl was whimpering pitifully, "Please no! I haven't hurt anyone. I'm sorry! Please don't kill me. I didn't have a choice! I _had _to go with them or they were going to kill me!"

Eliza frowned looking undecided for several moments before slowly setting the girl down on her feet, stepping back and crossing her arms to regard the vampire. Eliza didn't step out of arm's length, making it clear to the girl she wasn't free to go. The girl's hand went to her throat and she looked at Eliza with frightened eyes, trembling slightly.

When Eliza set the girl down, and didn't make a move to immediately dispatch her, Irina snarled in fury. "Looks like you missed one." An equally angry Kate was a step behind Irina, clearly they both intended to finish the job started by Isabella and Eliza. The rest of the Denali watched, but made no move to assist or to deter the two enraged women. .

Eliza was frowning, clearly puzzled and she seemed to be oblivious to the approach of two angry vampires. Her eyes moved slowly up and down the girl in appraisal. Eliza saw the fear in the girl's eyes as they focused behind Eliza's shoulder and backed against the tree behind her doing everything short of trying to hollow out the tree to climb inside. Eliza frowned at the expression on the girl's face. There was something else about her though. Something elusive that Eliza couldn't quite put her finger on. The girl flinched back from Tanya and Kate's anger, Eliza made her decision.

Just before they reached the girl, Eliza spun to face them, stepping directly and deliberately between the oncoming duo and the frightened girl. She very calmly crossed her arms wearing her best take no prisoners expression. Yet another look she'd learned from her mother. She hadn't quite mastered it as Isabella had though. Isabella was able to cow even Caius or Jane when she used that expression. Eliza's wasn't so effective but it still showed that she meant business.

Irina stopped short, noting Eliza's sudden territorial stance, and she snarled. " It's our right to destroy her. She's one of the group who attacked us and tried to kill us Get out of the way."

Eliza looked first one woman and then the other in the eyes. Her violet eyes met their yellow eyes as she shook her head slowly, set her shoulders and said simply. "No."

Isabella turned her head and frowned at her daughter from fifty yards away where she had been gathering a bit of brush to start the fire. _**"Eliza? What's the deal? They have the right…" **_She stood up slowly, keeping her face blank and looking utterly unconcerned with the developing disagreement as she tossed brush into the beginnings of a pile.

_**"I can't let them just kill her, she hid rather than fight." **_Eliza replied, the tone of her mental reply making it clear she wasn't as sure of this decision as her calm demeanor might indicate. She didn't know what it was about the girl, just sympathy or some inexplicable bond, but Eliza felt the need to defend her.

Isabella frowned, _**"She's a newborn and she was part of a newborn army. Her life is already forfeit. They attacked the Denali. They have a right to demand her execution." **_Despite her words, Isabella could feel Eliza's desire to help the girl, making Isabella doubt the conviction of her own words.

_**"Mom… she's… she's just like me. Scared out of her mind, and caught up in something she had no control of."**_ Eliza replied, her voice desperate. Isabella frowned further, turning it over in her mind as she looked for a way out of the brewing confrontation.

"You're Volturi. By your own law her life is forfeit!" Irina snarled though she didn't step closer to Eliza. The girl shook her head but otherwise made no sound, afraid of changing the mind of this stranger who'd gone from prospective killer to protector in a matter of seconds.

The rest of the Denali moved forward. Eliza stood fast and shook her head slowly, "No, I won't let you kill her." Isabella recognized the tone in her daughter's voice. She was committed to her action now, and nothing short of Isabella forcing her would deter her.

"Her… group hurt my mate. Her group attempted to kill us. Their failure was not for want of effort, you know that better than anyone! By law her life is forfeit." Kate's voice was a low growl. She shifted her body to better prepare herself to attack. The Denali coven was clearly irate enough to provoke a confrontation. To have a Volturi, a group which they had little love for, defend someone who tried to kill them was more than enough to push them over the edge. They were spreading out slowly and subtly in a semicircle around Eliza.

Eliza shook her head slowly again, keeping herself as much between the girl and the angry coven as she could. "No. You won't hurt her. You wouldn't be _alive_ to hurt her if we hadn't decided to defend you."

Carlisle attempted to defuse the brewing storm. "Maybe we should see if she knows anything. Attacks like this don't just happen randomly. We don't have to kill her." His tone was compassionate as he tried to defuse the situation.

Tanya who turned to him, an angry scowl on her normally calm face. "You didn't spend the past few hours running for your life like we did. You didn't watch the home you'd spent years building, with everything that had any sort of sentimental value turning to ashes, as you fled for your life. You didn't wonder whether or not your mate was going to survive when you were separated like Kate and Irina did. Your mate wasn't hurt like Kate's did."

Carlisle was taken aback by the rage in Tanya's voice. He'd known her many years but he'd never seen or heard her this angry before. He turned to glance at Jasper who shook his head. Emotions were running far too high for Jasper's abilities to do any good.

Edward stood beside Carlisle and was frowning at Eliza and the girl. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he stared and then he slowly shook his head. "Her mind is all jumbled up. It's like she's in pain. But it's hazy, like I can't get a clear picture" Frustration was evident in his voice, he glared at Eliza as if blaming her.

Eliza raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise, another mannerism she had picked up from her mother. She shrugged her shoulders slightly in response. She wasn't sure why Edward wouldn't be able to read the girl and she didn't have time to get into an argument with him at the moment.

Eliza turned her attention back to the Denali's. "She hasn't done anything, she's scared. Give her a chance." Her voice was part coaxing, part plea for them to calm down.

"The same laws you used to execute Sasha, our mother, are the ones giving us the right to execute her for her attack on us." Tanya's own anger was growing. Years of resentment boiling on top of the anger of tonight's events, and she turned to Eleazar for confirmation.

Eleazar was considered expert in Volturi laws. He had been a valuable and high placed member of the Volturi for many years. His knowledge of all things Volturi outstripped even Carlisle's. Eleazar nodded slowly, if reluctantly, in agreement. "She's right. If you prevent them from killing her you're in violation of the laws yourself, and subject to the same punishment." His voice was calmer then the snarls of those around him. He too was trying to soothe everyone.

Kate spoke, her voice ice cold, and dripping with malice. "Like we were told when your coven killed our mother. The Volturi do not give second chances." It was obvious this was more about getting some measure of revenge against the Volturi for executing their mother than it was about exacting revenge on one faceless newborn.

Eliza looked at the faces surrounding her, she didn't think she could fight them all and protect the girl. She also knew they had a point. They were correct in claiming the laws favored them. She looked left and right for a moment as if searching for a way out of the predicament. When nothing came to mind she looked over the shoulders of the surrounding Denali and called out in a desperate plea. "Mother… please."

Isabella had been halfheartedly piling some brush and heads up while she'd tried to think of a simple way out of the escalating conflict. Her thoughts were interrupted by her daughter's plea, and her reaction to that plea was instantaneous. Her body was a blur as she pushed through the semi-circle and interposed herself between the Denali and the frightened girl. She stood shoulder to shoulder with her daughter and fixed the Denali with her own imposing glare. She was rewarded when the Denali each took a slight step back.

Isabella didn't necessarily feel the same as her daughter, but Isabella couldn't ignore a request from the only person she could truly say she cared about. She certainly wasn't going to leave her daughter to face any hostilities by herself should things continue to escalate.

"Mother?" Edward's voice asked in shock, speaking the thoughts of every member of his family. The Cullens were staring at the two of them with shock on their faces yet again. Both Isabella and Eliza ignored his comment.

Alice had been standing back, not approaching the situation or Isabella still assuming the two were mates. When she heard Eliza's comment her jaw dropped and eyes went wide, completely forgetting about the looming fight. She looked back and forth between Isabella's face and Eliza's face, as if looking alone would bring her the confirmation she sought.

Jasper stared at Isabella and Eliza until he felt a surge of what he could only call hope, coming from Alice. It replaced the deep and numbing sorrow which began to grow after the newborn attack had begun a few minutes earlier.

The exchange passed unnoticed by the Denali clan. "If you stand with her, you're just as in violation of the laws." Kate snarled.

Eliza's relief at Isabella joining her was palpable. Isabella looked at the Denali with a frown and then she nodded slowly. Her mouth turned upward very briefly in a smirk, as she realized she had a way out. Her voice was calm. "You're claiming your right to execute her because her group was going to kill you. Correct?"

Tanya was slightly surprised at the calm tone, and her reply was wary, because she hadn't missed the brief but small smirk on Isabella's face, but she nodded. "Yes the same laws justifying the Volturi in killing our mother."

Carmen broke her silence. She and Eleazar had been looking at the frightened girl, and their own compassion was evident, replacing the anger they had been feeling. "Tanya, maybe we should step back and consider this. We're all worked up from tonight."

To the surprise of everyone, it was Isabella who shook her head and held up her hand. "No, No. It's okay. They've claimed the right. It is theirs."

"Mom!" Eliza protested from her side, sounding deeply hurt at this sudden betrayal. She turned to face her mother in open-mouthed shock. The confirmation of their relationship seemed to jolt the Cullens, but Eliza didn't notice.

Isabella held up her other hand at her daughter, looking ever so briefly like a demonic crossing guard, silencing the forthcoming tirade. _**"Don't worry. I've got this."**_ she said in Eliza's mind.

"You may, of course, exercise your right. Her life is forfeit." Isabella said as she looked around, there was a whimper of fear from the girl behind them, but before any of the others could do anything, she continued. "However, since we're adhering so strictly to that law, I wish to exercise my own claim."

There were several blank looks from the Denali's. Eleazar spoke first, his brow furrowed slightly. "What claim?"

Isabella turned her head and pointed deliberately behind Irina. "I claim Laurent's life as forfeit."

There was an immediate snarl from Irina at the implied thread to her mate, followed by other snarls from most of the members of the coven. "None of us have attacked you this evening." Eleazar protested, speaking for the group. "While we grant you saved our lives this evening, it does not give you the same right to take them."

Isabella shook her head. "It has nothing to do with tonight. My claim pre-dates yours by about… 90 years or so."

Laurent's eyes were narrowed speculatively, "What are you talking about?"

"Let me see if I can jog your memory a bit." Isabella said, then her voice shifted and she mimicked Laurent's deeper voice and French accent. "She will not be happy about my killing you. But I just can't help myself, you're so mouthwatering."

Laurent and Irina both blinked. Irina turned her head to look at him in surprise. Laurent's face showed nothing but confusion for several seconds at Isabella's words. Then he blinked when he associated _this_ Bella with the girl in his memory, staring at Isabella in openmouthed shock. "You? But that was… I… didn't… I mean… I didn't know."

Isabella nodded slowly, her eyes locked on his burning with a sudden intensity. "You made plain your intention to kill me. You thought I was someone's mate. Yet you were still willing to kill me, before confirming that any other claim had been relinquished."

Laurent shook his head slowly. "You were still human then, it's not the same thing." he protested.

Isabella shook her head but rather than reply, she turned to look at Eleazar for qualification. He met her eyes and then slowly spoke up. "There's.. no provision in the law for separating when someone is a vampire and when they're a mortal. She has a valid claim."

Isabella nodded as her eyes bored into Laurent's. "And as your coven mate so eloquently stated, the fact your attempt was interrupted and failed doesn't change the fact that you were going to kill me."

Irina frowned, glaring at Isabella for several long moments, resisting the urge to attack this perceived threat to her mate. She turned and looked up at Laurent questioningly, "When was this?"

Laurent sighed, "It was not long after we met; when I was having a lot more problems adhering to our diet. After I left James and Victoria's coven. The two of them were insane, but I still owed Victoria. She told me we would be even if I came back to Forks to see if the rumor she heard about the Cullens being gone was true. She wanted me to find out if Edward's mate was still protected by the coven and she wasn't. Victoria was... an evil bitch. Victoria had horrible plans for her. I thought if I killed Bella I'd be doing her a favor."

"Proof of just how great Edward's plan of 'leaving me for my own good' was." Isabella snorted and shook her head. Edward growled but didn't say anything. Eliza couldn't resist it and winked in Edward's direction.

"What interrupted you?" Carmen asked Laurent curiously.

Laurent frowned, and his voice came out tinged with anger. "A pack of wolves interrupted me. They showed up right as I was about to kill her."

"Then we chased your ass all the way to Canada, leech." An amused masculine voice said, preceding Jacob from the woods. He was in a pair of jean shorts and followed by several members of his pack, including Tekali and Leah.

The Denali coven all took a step back and took defensive stances, snarls erupting from all of them, except for Eleazar who looked at the newcomers curiously.

"What are they doing here?" Tanya growled out.

"They just helped us save you. The correct response is usually 'Thank you.'" Eliza spoke up with a scowl of her own.

"Hey Bells, picking fights again? You haven't had enough for one night?" Jacob asked with a grin, his relaxed stance belied by the alertness in his eyes. He had been listening to the last quick exchange, which is why he chose to make his entrance with the rest of his pack.

Isabella couldn't help a small grin crossing her face at the Denali clan's reaction. She shook her head, " Hey Jake, no…not at all. We're simply negotiating."

Isabella turned her head back to meet Tanya's eyes. Tanya's eyes flicked to Isabella's immediately at the word 'negotiation' trying to figure out what Isabella meant. "As Eleazar said, my claim has merit. The only reason I'm here today is because Jacob and his pack saved me. So, if you would all be so kind as to step aside, I will take his life, as is my right."

The entire Denali clan faced Isabella. Irina snarled and settled into a low growl as they glared at her.

Isabella noted all of their reactions before speaking calmly as she met Tanya's eyes. "Now, do you really wish to pursue this claim over a frightened teenager who didn't actually hurt any of your coven?"

Tanya's eyes showed she understood the hint from a few moments earlier. She looked over her shoulder at Laurent who shook his head slowly. Tanya turned back to look at Isabella. "We forfeit our claim, and in return you do the same?"

When Isabella nodded in response, Tanya nodded slowly. "Done."

_**"Thanks Mother." **_Eliza was clearly grateful to Isabella as she relaxed. Eliza turned back to look at the girl who slid down the trunk of the tree, so that she was sitting on the ground, a terrified expression on her face, her arms and legs were shaking slightly. Eliza didn't blame her. The poor girl was surrounded by beings wanting to kill her. Eliza murmured quietly to the scared teen, trying to calm her.

The Denali clan backed up several steps and were regarding the wolf pack with cautious looks. Carlisle had informed the Denali about the Quileutes and the treaty, but this was the first time any of them had come into contact with the pack. The only member of the Denali who's expression was more curious than apprehensive was Eleazar.

Isabella turned and moved a few steps away from her daughter, giving her some space to talk to the girl. She saw Leah crouch down next to Eliza and couldn't help but smile almost imperceptibly. She picked a pile of three bodies lying on top of one another. Isabella took the matches, struck one and then tossed it on the pile of bodies, which quickly caught fire.

Jacob was surveying the devastation on the field, and shaking his head. "You weren't kidding about being able to take care of yourself were you?"

Isabella grinned slightly and chuckled. "I told you, we could handle it. You didn't sound like you did so badly either." She casually picked up two heads and toss them into the flames.

Jacob frowned, turning back to face Isabella."Yeah, we need to talk about that."

Isabella turned her attention from building the fire, to Jacob, a frown crossing her face. "Yeah you mentioned it before the fight. What's up?"

Jacob opened his mouth to reply but Edwards voice interrupted him, "Mother? You had a kid? With who? What the hell is going on Bella?" Edward half shouted his questions from behind her, choosing an awkward moment to speak. His tone demanded answers.

Isabella gritted her teeth and kept her shoulders squared and her attention focused on Jacob, deliberately ignoring Edward. She gestured for Jacob to continue, but before he could speak up, Edward gripped Isabella's arm and spun her around to face him.

Utter silence fell over the clearing. The whole area seemed to darken slightly. The shadows getting darker, and the fire's brightness dimming.

Both Jasper and Eliza's head's whipped around in unison as they felt the sudden upsurge of pure rage that erupted out of Isabella in that moment. Their responses were identical.

"Oh shi-"

Their cries were cut off by Isabella's savage roar of fury as she twisted her arm and grabbed Edward's wrist. She spun using her momentum to send him flying into a nearby tree. He hit the tree hard enough the impact of his body sent bark flying.

Edward recovered his equilibrium just in time to see Isabella hurtling towards him. He barely scrambled out of the way as her fist slammed into the trunk of the tree he had just been thrown against. The trunk where Isabella's fist hit exploded into splinters and the tree toppled. Isabella turned in the direction Edward dodged to speed after him again, snarling the entire time.

"Oh hell…. Watch her!" Eliza shouted to Leah as she got to her feet, darting after her mother. Leah blinked in surprise, turning her attention away from the confrontation to look at the vampire teen who was still on the ground shaking.

Edward realized the gravity of the faux pas he'd just committed when Isabella's fist shattered the tree. He sprinted across the meadow, past his family, Isabella hot on his heels. Emmett attempted to grab Isabella as she passed him, but he wasn't quick enough and ended up sprawled on the ground. Edward weaved along the tree line, scrambling from tree to tree trying to keep anything he could between himself and Isabella. More than once he'd tried to shout her name, only to be interrupted by the sound of a "boom" when Bella's fist connected where he'd been moments before.

Between one tree and the next he was jerked up short by a hand closing around his neck, twisting his body to slam him into the ground. Before he could recover, the iron grip on his neck drove him into another tree, with enough force his body ended up embedded in the thick trunk. Isabella's completely black eyes and snarling face was all he saw, contorted with rage, her fist pulled back and prepared for a killing blow.

"Mom! No!" Eliza leapt on Isabella's back, both of her arms wrapping around Isabella's upraised arm. Her legs braced on either side of Isabella's waist as she strained to hold the arm back. "He's not worth it!"

Isabella didn't seem to hear her daughter's voice. One of her hands was closed around Edward's throat in a grip of steel no amount of struggling could dislodge. Her other arm was engaged in a struggle to swing forward. Isabella's strength was heightened by her rage, while Eliza held on with both arms in an attempt to stop her. Both of them were trembling with exertion and they seemed stalemated.

Alice ran between Isabella and Edward. At the moment she was mad enough at Edward that his welfare was hardly a concern for her, however she didn't want her family to go through losing one of their members. She also didn't want Isabella to do something Alice thought she might eventually regret.

Eliza saw Alice interpose herself between Edward and Isabella and her eyes widened, "Alice! Don't! She's-" Eliza was cut off as her lapse in concentration allowed Isabella's fist jerk forward slightly.

Alice ignored Eliza's directive and placed her hand very lightly on Isabella's arm right at the crook of the elbow. The same arm and the same place Edward had grabbed a few moments earlier; the same arm currently keeping him pinned inside the trunk of the tree. Alice's voice was soft and pleading as she looked up into Isabella's eyes. Alice didn't even flinch when she saw the eyes had gone completely black. "Isabella, please don't."

Isabella blinked as Alice's face came into focus and a strange sense of calm seemed to diminish the rage engulfing her mind. She stared at Alice as she slowly lowered the arm Eliza clung to. She seemed surprised to find Eliza holding it. Isabella's black eyes glared at Edward for a second before releasing him, though he was embedded so deeply into the tree trunk he didn't immediately drop to the ground.

Eliza was so surprised that she let go of her mother's arm and tumbled to the ground. She looked back and forth between her mother and Alice. Her mother was still trembling with rage, but somehow Alice's very presence was holding it in check.

Eliza looked back and forth between her mother and Alice several times before she murmured very quietly. "Alice take her for a walk, let her clear her head."

Alice didn't even glance Eliza's way in acknowledgement, her eyes on Isabella's face. She began to lead Isabella away. Eliza tensed as she stood up, as Alice guided her mother gently by her arm away from Edward, and rather than into the clearing, lightly guided her further into the forest.

To say Eliza was stunned was putting it mildly. The rare times her mother had lost control like this, the _only_ person who'd been safe had been Eliza. On top of that, saying her mother didn't like to be touched was like saying mice might be a tad uncomfortable around cats. Eliza hadn't been there, but other Volturi still talked about the first time Aro had tried to hug her. They had to replace two of the three chairs the Volturi kings used and fix several dents in the floor, stairs and wall. She had eventually relented to his brief embraces but even he knew not to press his luck. It was practically a cardinal rule for the Volturi, with the exception of Eliza, Isabella did not like to be touched.

The rest of the family were watching with obvious relief as Isabella turned away from Edward, slowly walking away, Alice gently guiding her, and Isabella following without complaint.

"Everything will be ok, I promise," Eliza overheard Alice whisper as she guided Isabella away.

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**Author's notes**

**1) WHEW! You guys were SO super awesome with reviews on the last chapter we decided to get this chapter out tonight rather than wait until tomorrow night! **

**2) Soooo many people loved the LOTR part, I'm so glad. What actually surprised DarkBella and myself was that more people were worried about Alice's interpretation of the relationship between Eliza and Isabella. Admit it. You all totally thought i was going to draw out that angst for about 20 chapters didn't you? ^_^ (Seriously i think i'd have a reader riot on my hands) I'm glad to say that I'm not that sadistic. Obviously the big secret came out here tonight. But what surprised us most was that no one asked what the french words in the last chapter meant :P Those props totally go to Darkbella**

**3) Bonus points to justareader21 and samraven who recognized the smeghead comment as being from the TV series Red Dwarf. Funny mini story with that. I was 7 or 8 and watching that with the captions and asked my grandparents what the sign language for "smeghead" was. They had to explain to me the concept of made up words**

**4) Any guesses as to who the girl is? :P O_O You might even get a shout out! **

**5****) DarkBella's Author's note: Thank you for reviewing our story so much and so well, it really motivates us. We seem to have these great chapters when we bitch at each other a lot but I'm too fond of her to do that often.**

**6)If that holds true... that means chapter 27 is going to fucking rock ^_^. **

**7) The next chapter was actually going to be something completely different. Because i was all "bah... no one wants to read a conversation here between Alice and Bella! It's not the right time. It'll just bore them!" but then DarkBella's all "Ooh! Do it!*threatens to stab me with spork.*" and I'm all "NO LOLOLOLOL" and then she's all *stabstabstab* and then i'm all "bleedbleedbleed" **

**The wounds are healing nicely. and i should regain full use of my extremities. Though the vision loss in one eye is probably permanent. **

**No really though, I actually had this part coming slightly later. X_X only to realize slightly is about 30k words from here. But it flows so much better for the next chapter. **

**Thank you for reading and reviewing. I did not respond to reviews from the last chapter because i wanted to get this chapter out. I promise I will respond, probably tomorrow!**

**Please read and review this as well! We appreciate it.**

**Next chapter: Pure Bella and Alice O_O holy crap. **


	27. Never Again

**Chapter 27**

**I've lived a thousand years in darkness**

**Banished all alone**

**Inside my mind with just my madness**

**Behind these walls of stone**

**I was falling apart at the seams**

**Holding my breath just to breathe**

**Tasted the sting of my tears,**

**I was wakin' up stuck in a dream.**

**Ran out of air couldn't scream**

**Wasted away by my fears.**

Alice lead an unresisting Isabella away from the tree Edward remained partially embedded in. She didn't take her eyes away from the blackness of Isabella's eyes. She kept her hand on Isabella's arm, ready to retract it at any sign of anger or distress. Alice didn't care about the stares that followed them, her only concern at the moment was the girl in front of her.

For her part, Isabella let Alice guide her away, she was numb. Though rather than head back into the clearing Alice followed Eliza's advice and guided her away from the stares and prying eyes, deeper into the forest. Isabella followed without protest. Alice wasn't even certain Isabella was aware of her surroundings, except Isabella never left her.

Several minutes elapsed as they moved deeper into the forest, Alice finally stopped, and Isabella stopped with her. Alice didn't say anything for several long moments. She knew that whatever had calmed Isabella was tenuous at best. Finally she asked very softly and gently, "Isabella, are you okay?"

Isabella blinked several times, as if waking from a deep slumber. Alice watched the black of her eyes recede, slowly giving way to white on the outer edge of the eye, and then further inward as scarlet began to show again. When the black pupils finally took shape Isabella focused on Alice for just a moment before turning away, "Y.. yeah. I'm okay."

Isabella took several steps away and kept her back resolutely toward Alice as if by instinct. "You should go back... it's not safe."

Alice tilted her head, but she kept her voice mild, "What do you mean?"

Bella tensed, clenching her fists, but kept her back to Alice. She didn't know why, but stepping away from Alice seemed to intensify her emotional turmoil. "You saw what just happened. I'm dangerous. I lost control. It's really not safe for you to be around me. Not when I'm like this."

Alice slowly shook her head, she making no move to step closer to Bella. Instead she crossed her arms and lifted her head. "I'm not going anywhere."

Isabella's entire body tensed again and she clenched her fists for several long moments. Her voice was deceptively soft. "You don't understand…"

Alice's voice was gentle, she didn't demand or even try and coax, just voiced her request plainly. "So help me understand."

Isabella's form hunched slightly. She was of two minds about Alice's request. Part of her didn't want to reveal any side of herself. Something about exposing herself, laying her soul bare, made her very hesitant. For some strange reason she found herself fearing rejection by Alice. But losing control like that. .. Alice had to be made to understand.

"'I'm a monster'. Eddie used to say those words all the time. He had no fucking clue what a true monster is." Isabella said far more harshly than she'd intended, but wanting to get it out into the open.

Rather than reply Alice slowly walked closer to Isabella, circling round her slowly.. Alice made sure to move sanguinely enough Isabella was able to track her movements with ease.

Alice moved until she was facing Isabella, who was still shuddering. Isabella slowly noticed Alice coming into her view. Somehow the fact Alice wasn't immediately trying to placate her with meaningless platitudes made it easier. This was Alice. She could at least talk to her.

She spoke louder, "I'm a monster. You saw what just happened. I almost killed him, I could have killed you. You need to go and stay as far away from me as possible." The belief in her statement was reflected on her face. If Edward had been any slower, or Eliza hadn't leapt in, Edward would be dead now. Isabella doubted it would have been all that great of a loss. She hated the idea of losing control. Isabella slowly lifted her eyes from the ground until she was staring into Alice's eyes again. She started to shake, obviously agitated.

Alice met her stare, showing no reaction to her pitch black eyes. "I'm not leaving you. It's okay. We all lose control sometimes. You know that better than anyone. Far better than me." Her voice was soft, soothing, though she winced slightly after the words came out of her mouth. _Great, let's just remind her about us leaving._

Fortunately, that wasn't what Isabella focused on. She shook her head slowly. "No, you don't understand. With me… it's different. I'm not just another vampire with an impulse control problem. I'm different."

Alice kept her voice calm, "Talk to me. How is it different? I mean… I hate to tell you, wanting to rip Edward's face off is not exactly different. Hell, for once I'm willing to bet it puts you in the majority… and that's usually before he opens his mouth." Her voice turned teasing, trying desperately to instance. encourage, some sort of emotion besides anger from Isabella.

Isabella's mouth quirked very slightly at the joke. It wasn't much but it was something, then she seemed to sink back into habitual self-loathing, hanging her head, letting her hair fall forward to obscure her face. "I meant what I said last night. I'm not the Bella you knew. So much has happened. I've… done so much."

"Tell me what happened to you." Alice said, the words more of a plea than a demand. Alice wanted nothing more than to reach out with her hand and push Isabella's hair back from her face, but she restrained herself.

Isabella hesitated for a moment that seemed to last far too long before she looked up and met Alice's eyes once again. "Are you sure?" Isabella's voice was soft but utterly cold.

Alice nodded slowly. "Yes, talk to me. I'm here for you." Isabella's voice had set off all sorts of warning bells in her head. It had a dangerous quality to it, one that Alice was never sure she'd heard before.

Isabella started speaking slowly, looking down and closing her eyes. "It started right after you left. Something… inside me broke. I missed you so much. I didn't even care about myself at that point. You were gone. It was like my entire soul was excised, and all that was left was a shell. I was already dead, I was just waiting for the rest of my body to die."

Alice nodded, not denying any of it. "I'm so sorry we left-"

Isabella's head shot up and her, her brow furrowing in anger. She whirled away from Alice and began to pace, gesturing with her arms vaguely in the direction of the clearing. "Not them. You! I missed your family of course. And I thought I was in love with Edward and I missed him. But god… I couldn't stop thinking about _YOU_."

Alice was stunned, as Isabella continued her pacing.

"I sent an email to your email address every goddamn day. Every fucking day dearie. I know you deactivated it. Believe me, I got plenty of 'address does not exist' messages back. But I hoped and prayed that you'd see the messages because I made the decision and I sent them. You have no fucking clue how much I missed you. That was the hardest part of Edward telling me goodbye. God… you were my best friend, my sister, my confidant… my…" Isabella faltered momentarily before continuing "My… everything! All rolled into one! Then I'm told that I'm not good enough for your family. That you don't even want to bother saying good bye?"

Alice reached out to touch Isabella as she paced back and forth. She wanted to wrap Isabella up in her arms, but felt she needed to get through this. Ashamed she could not touch her.

"Oh I tried to make friends. I reconnected with Jacob Black and convinced him to help me build motorcycles because I found out that if I did stupid things I could almost see you. Any of you. Telling me I was being dumb or warning me against doing something stupid... like loving vampires. Let me tell you how fucking messed up that is. To do something stupid just so I could hear one of you telling me I was being stupid. For awhile there I tried anything. motorcycle riding, walking through dangerous parts of town at night, But you know what? Karma must seriously fucking have it in for me. Because… come to find out. My new best friend is a wolf. And not only that but he's spending his spare time protecting me! And he fucking failed!"

"Protecting you from what? We were gone. That should have been all the protection you needed…" Alice frowned in confusion, wondering what she was saying.

"Oh yes, you were gone. Edward's 'chivalrous' move to protect me, a family that claimed to love me disappears. Of course that meant I was fair game to any other vampires. Such wonderful protection leaving me 'for my own good' ended up being." Isabella said sarcastically, stopping her pacing to lock eyes with Alice.

"Laurent…" Alice trailed off, the pieces from earlier finally clicking into place. Her eyes grew wider after a moment as she realized the further implications of what Bella was saying. They had only discovered when they returned a few months earlier the wolves caused blank spots in her visions. Until then Alice hadn't made the connection between the greying out effect the wolves had, and the graying out which occurred with greater and greater frequency in Bella's life.

"And Victoria." Isabella practically hissed out the name, oblivious to Alice's revelation. "Once Jake mentioned that she kept trying to get to Forks, but they weren't certain as to why. I told them. I mean it was obvious. She was coming after me."

Alice's hand covered mouth. "She... came after you? … but we were gone… Why would she...?"

"A mate for a mate." Isabella said with a bitter laugh.

Alice flinched.

"That's right. I ended up practically living at La Push. My dad was just happy that I was no longer borderline catatonic so he never complained. I was practically surrounded by wolves twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. But she kept trying. But Jacob wouldn't abandon me. They protected me like a member of their pack. But it doesn't mean they couldn't be tricked."

"Tricked?" echoed Alice, her voice cold with dread.

Isabella nodded. "Victoria created a couple of newborns and set them loose on one part of the reservation, no one realized it was a distraction. I mean how could they? It's not like I knew anyone at the time who would recognize the strategy. Jacob and his packed attacked the newborns. Victoria seized me. Knocked me out and spirited me away. I woke up in a cabin in the middle of nowhere." Isabella glanced up for a moment, this is where she usually whitewashed things. But something inside her made her want Alice to have the full impact.

"When I woke up she wasn't around. I bolted out the door immediately. I had no idea where I was, but I thought maybe I'd woken up sooner than she expected, so I just ran in a direction. Victoria let me get about two miles before she pounced. She threw me to the ground and I thought she was going to kill me. I should have been so lucky." Isabella's voice had gone utterly stark and devoid of emotion as she recalled the events.

"Instead she laughed, reached down grabbed my hand and then crushed the bones in my pinky. When I stopped screaming she whispered in my ear. 'If the Cullens cared at all they could have stopped this.' she said. Then she grabbed me by my hair and dragged me all the way back to the cabin." Isabella shook her head a little bit

Alice face was horrified, but she didn't say anything. She let Isabella continue, seeing every description with her mind's eye.

"That was a game we played for days? Weeks? She'd drag me back to the cabin by my hair and leave me. I would run, sometimes she'd let me get miles away, other times no more than a few hundred yards. Then she'd show up. Break a few bones and drag me back. If I didn't run, she'd randomly show up, break a bone or two and then leave. She went from my fingers to my hands, to my feet to my legs. When I couldn't walk I had to try and crawl out that door. That just amused her even more. And all the time I heard variations on the theme. 'If they cared they'd be there.' and 'I deserved this for what I'd done to her mate' I finally broke down one day and told her exactly why you left. I wasn't _good_ enough. I'll never forget that expression on her face. She glared at me as if she thought I had any reason to lie. I didn't... I knew... or rather thought I was good as dead eventually. Then she laughed at me. She _laughed._ Said that I was pitiful. She wasn't surprised. and that you were absolutly right. I was wasn't good enough. This was all I was good for now" Isabella was trembling again, her fist in front of her shaking in anger, as she remembered it.

"After she'd broken nearly every bone possible, save for the spine and skull of course, she didn't want to risk me not feeling anything. Then began the cutting. She starting just cutting random parts of my body. Sometimes small cuts. sometimes large cuts. But she could only do it a little at a time. she didn't want to lose control and end my torment too early. When she finished with that, it was time for brandings. All of these spread over the course of weeks? Months? I don't know. I lost track. She was very skilled at hurting me while keeping me alive. I deserved it all. The family I was with killed her mate and then had abandoned me." Isabella's voice was full of hurt and anger, dropping to a hoarse whisper near the end.

Alice was shocked as she listened to Isabella relate the story. Her expression was one of horror that she couldn't even try and hide.

"I thought that at least I would eventually wear out. She could only hurt me so much. I tried to hurry the process along, not eat or drink only to have her alternate between force feeding me or promising a few hours respite. Show's how much I knew at the time. She had me within an inch of my life when the tortures stopped. She just left me there. I don't know how long. I couldn't even move, laying on the floor utterly broken, drifting in and out of consciousness in my own waste and filth. Then she came back and picked me up, and carried me outside. I assumed it was for some final indignity. I wasn't far wrong. She told me to open my eyes and look at the sun, because it would be the last time I would see it. I did. I thought she was going to kill me. I saw her and I saw a deep deep hole." Isabella closed her eye and shuddered a little bit, not able to even look at Alice now.

"Her face was the last thing I saw as she whispered in my ear. 'I'm going to give you an eternity of hell. While you're there I want you to know. I'm going to kill everyone you've ever cared about. Your friends. Your parents. Everyone. Each one will die slowly and die knowing it's your fault. If you had died instead of my James they'd all still be alive. They'll all die hating you.' Then she wrapped me in barbed chains. Then stuck me in this box. The last thing she did before she closed it was bite my neck. Then she closed the lid. I remember the venom coursing through me, adding a whole new dimension to my pain. I remember hearing her welding the box closed save for a small hole she left at the top. Then when my breathing stopped, she filled the box with cement. Then she dropped the box into the hole and filled it with cement and then buried it." Isabella shuddered again remembering the pain she was going through as light completely closed off from her world.

Alice was absolutely speechless, a look of sheer horror on her face at the details Isabella related robotically.

"When I woke. That's all there was. Hunger and Darkness. I couldn't move at all. I was completely trapped Nothing but the unquenchable thirst for blood and the darkness that surrounded me. The pain was complete and total. Solitary confinement and sensory deprivation are common in many prisons. But even they can move around a little, and have an hour of yard time a day. They've done experiments locking people in dark rooms without sound. All of them experience hallucinations after within 48 hours. I later found out that I was down there for nearly a decade. I was filled with hatred for Victoria. Hatred for your family. Most of all hatred for myself, for daring to rise above my place. For being so selfish as to cause all of their deaths. I had my hunger which became nothing but pain. I had the darkness. I would dream of being free. I would dream of life or the sky or people. But that's all they were was dreams. Nothing but dreams. I went insane. I won't deny it. But my imagination wasn't that strong. Complete sensory deprivation and I didn't even have the refuge of sleep that humans have if they're in prison or solitary confinement. I only had what I had. Hate. Darkness. Pain. I wished for death with every fiber of my being. I was all alone. The hatred, the pain, and the darkness my only companions." Isabella's voice was getting more and more desolate and her pacing getting more frenetic.

Alice forced herself to listen, not wanting to interrupt and not wanting to stop her as she talked through it. If Isabella experienced it, the least she could do was listen to it. Then her eyes widened once again. She understood. That's why her visions had gone completely dark. Not because Bella was dead, but because she was... in darkness. In Hell.

"Eventually in my madness… I embraced the pain, and the rage and the darkness. It comforted me. And something happened. I was filled with a darkness deeper than the tomb she had buried me in. It filled me. It surrounded me. I snapped and my world exploded around me. I was free. It took me awhile to realize that I was really free and that it wasn't just another hallucination, and I was _thirsty._ I killed and drank everything in my path. Animals at first, it didn't matter what it was. Deer, squirrells, rabbits, moose, bear. I drank and drank...until I found people. A family. Parents. Children. I don't know how many… I drank them too. That's when I sort of woke up. The whole campsite destroyed. A whole family dead." The depth of Isabella's self hatred obvious.

"How did you end up with the Volturi?" Alice asked, more to try and get Isabella away from the memory she was so clearly reliving than a burning need to know.

"It took awhile for me to figure out what I should do. I didn't know where I was. I barely knew _who_ I was. I'm not sure how long it took to come up with an idea. But I remembered that I'd been told about the Volturi in Volterra. So that's where I went. I'm not sure if I went there because I was hoping for help, or because I was hoping for them to kill me. I'm not even sure I could tell you reliably how I got there. I think I snuck on a plane?" Isabella's voice was confused and uncertain, the photographic memory of the vampire marred by the state of madness she was in at the time. She struggled to recall.

"They took me in. Had me shower, the first I'd had since Victoria knocked me out the first time. I asked them to kill me. But... my ability interested them. Instead they offered to take me in. To train me. It was the best and worst thing they could have done. I would never be weak and helpless again. But they were helping make a better murderer. When I was ready, they allowed me to do what I do best. Inflict pain for all sorts of transgressions. Kill." Isabella snarled at the end.

Alice's mouth opened and closed several times. Responses she had in mind, protests, comforts, all flashed through her mind's eye. She wanted the whole story, so she forced herself to ask. "Victoria did all this... turned you into a vampire... where does Eliza come into the story?"

Isabella chuckled. She outlined in brief terms for Alice the story of her meeting Eliza. The mutual bite. The changes it caused in both of them. The bond the two of them shared. Alice listened with great interest, but without commenting throughout the story. As she talked, the black faded from her eyes, returning to their normal red.

"Now we work together. I still wonder if Aro should have destroyed me all those years ago. But he didn't. He was too curious about what we were. He even stopped others from executing us both, as if they could. Too much value in us. And he's been right. We've been good and effective. I think tonight's work speaks for itself. Two more members to make his coven more powerful. He even adopted us. Official 'Princess" of the Volturi and all that." Isabella's voice became more calm as the story got easier. Finally she slumped her shoulders and looked down at the ground.

Alice took a deep breath, looking at Isabella's forlorn form. Her story made her anger make so much sense. It also made that first acceptance of the possibility of friendship seem like so much more of an olive branch than Alice had initially realized.

When she started to talk, her voice was soft, and soothing despite being filled with a deep sadness. "Isabella... I... I don't even know where to start. What you went through was... horrible. Horrific. You know better than I ever could. I imagined you a vampire so many times when... I mean... I wanted to be there for you through the transition. I wanted to be there when you woke. I wanted to be there through those first years as a newborn. I wanted to be with you through it all."

Alice reached out with her hand tentatively, she slipped her hand around Isabella's and gripped it lightly, leaving plenty of room for Isabella to pull back. Alice was gratified when she didn't. Her voice seemed to trail off on the thread of the idea before she picked back up, "God... the idea of you... alone... and what you went through... it... hurts me in ways I never imagined. Because all these years... it's... all my fault. I left you."

"I feel horrible about that. It's my fault and I can't even begin to describe the level of guilt. But do you know what makes me feel even guiltier?" Alice asked, and then she waited until Isabella's head lifted to meet her eyes.

Alice's golden eyes met Isabella's crimson ones intently. "I can't help it that a huge part of me is... so unbelievably _happy_ you survived. Far more than you know, perhaps more happy than you will ever know." Alice paused, biting her lower lip and then squeezed Bella's hand gently more to reassure herself than to reassure Bella.

"Maybe that makes me a bad person. But I don't care. You're _alive._ What happened to you, it's the most horrible thing I've ever heard...but. Victoria did those things to you to show she had power over you, power to make you hurt, power to make you still hurt, power to hurt you forever. Your escape was a partial victory over her. When you can hate her for what she _did_...without hating the world and most everyone in it, your victory over her will be complete."

Isabella's eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Victory? You don't get it. It's not about empty moralistic victories. There's no game here. It's over. She won. When I had enough presence of mind to check… I found out Victoria did exactly what she promised me she would. My father disappeared and was never heard from again. Phil and my mother were identified by their dental records after a fire consumed their house. No word on why the bodies looked like they had been attacked by wild animals before getting burnt to a crisp. Angela Weber disappeared from college and was never seen again. Eric Yorkie's car mysteriously ran off the road on a night without a cloud in the sky. Again, his body was so badly damaged had to be identified by dental records. And I have some idea of just what she subjected them to. All of them… dead because of me."

Alice nearly broke down, although she was unable to cry, a huge wave of sympathy rose up inside her at the utter self-loathing in Bella's voice. Alice gathered herself with an effort. "B… Isabella…that wasn't your fault. I can't tell you it doesn't suck and it doesn't mean I don't hope you made her pay… I know it won't be easy, the cliché goes nothing worth having ever is. That isn't always true but it applies in this case. You say you are a monster, I say you are wonderful. Defying and beating odds no one else could have hoped to. I don't know how but I do know this. Unless you stop me, you will never face anything alone again, I will be the friend I should have been all along..."

Isabella pulled her hand away from Alice and turned away taking three steps away as she set her shoulders. She didn't see how her stinging rejection hurt Alice's face. Her voice, when it finally came out, was a seething mix of rage and hurt. "You can't… it's not safe…. God… you don't understand…"

Alice took one step forward and said in a protesting voice, far more demanding than she intended, "Damnit! then help me understand!"

Far faster than Alice could react, Isabella whirled around and Alice felt a grip around her neck and then the impact as her body was slammed into a tree. Her eyes widened in surprise as she found herself staring into the pure blackness of Isabella's eyes, only inches from her own. Isabella held her throat as she kept her pinned to the tree, her voice was a snarl. "I'm _dangerous_. I'm faster. Stronger. More dexterous than any vampire except my daughter, who's physical abilities equal my own. I've got a monster inside me screaming to get loose. You just _saw_ what happens if I lose control."

"I could kill you right now, with no effort. " Isabella squeezed Alice's neck slightly with her hand for emphasis. "The _only _thing that keeps you and the world safe is my nominal self-control, and my daughter. I could lose control at any time for only a second and it would be over. If I fly off the handle, there's no telling what it would take to stop me. It's not safe for you to be around me. You should be terrified. Being around me is like sitting in the chair under the Sword of Damocles. At any time… I could snap." Isabella squeezed Alice's neck briefly once more for emphasis. Her black eyes locked on Alice's only a scant few inches from hers.

Alice answered, with her heart. "I don't care."

Alice's eyes had never left Isabella's during the entire speech, though her face was surprised at first. She didn't display fear, and while her reply was soft, it was firm. "I'm not going to leave you. Not again."

Isabella's face contorted into a sneer as a snarl of rage escaped her throat. Alice didn't understand. Why didn't she understand? She stared into the beautiful face in front of her and between one moment and the next slammed her lips against Alice's.

Alice's eyes went wide and she had a giant intake of breath through her nose as fireworks went off in her brain and someone had jammed a live wire into her body the instant she felt Isabella's lips on hers. All of her nerves jumped alive and exploded with sensation. The smell of Bella, filled her senses. The feel of Isabella's hand on her neck, the rest of her body so close all making Alice's body feel _alive_. There was nothing gentle or sweet or romantic about the kiss. This wasn't a light, exploring kiss, nor was it tentative in the least. The few times that Alice had allowed herself a brief fantasy their first kiss had been nothing like this. This wasn't worshipping and tender. This was a rough and almost punishing kiss.

It was also the hottest fucking thing she'd ever felt.

Isabella was alive. Isabella was kissing her.

For the life of her Isabella couldn't remember how she ended up doing this. She remembered being so furious with Alice and wanting nothing more than to smack some sense into her, so she'd be more concerned with her own safety.

And now she had Alice pinned against a tree in a lip lock, her hand still wrapped around Alice's throat. Holy mother of pearl Alice was a good kisser. It was more intense than anything Isabella had ever felt and she didn't… want… to stop. It felt so right… and … she wanted more.

It took an inhuman amount of will but Isabella pulled back with a gasp, turning away and inhaling deeply, desperately trying to get something besides the scent of cinnamon and lilacs from her nose. She didn't dare look at Alice for her reaction. But when she tried to pull away to get more distance between them she felt a grip on her wrist.

Isabella braced herself, turning around to stare at Alice. She found herself staring into Alice's eyes. The irises were completely black as she stared intently at Isabella.

Alice's voice was slightly deeper than normal, and she stared at Isabella intently. "You will never be alone again Isabella. I will be the friend you've deserved all along and what... I should have been. All the excuses don't change that I screwed up. I'm sorry and I will never leave you again. I will spend the rest of my life showing you, proving it to you. I will be what I should have been in another life. I will be better. I will be what you deserved all those years ago and what you deserve now. If you let me... I will be."

Isabella's eyes slowly faded from black to red as she stared back. Very slowly, as if she knew she were dooming them both to disaster, she nodded. They both stood there, eyes locked on each other, Alice's fingers still wrapped around Bella's wrist. Finally one of them spoke, though neither one could have told who spoke up first.

"We'd better get back."

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**Author's notes**

**1) YAY another chapter. (Seriously don't keep expecting them night after night. This is alot of words to bust out.)**

**2) This chapter was... unique. **

**It was originally not going to occur until much later. Then DarkBella got all homicidal with a spork. And after i got past my stubbornness i realized that she was right. This chapter is all because of her. She's... so amazing in how completely she helps and supports me. Even if it takes sporks and nerfbats to get it going. She is the Zen Mistress and my co-author and this story would be so much less without her. **

**I knew it was going to be emotional but I had no idea just how emotional I'd get while doing it. I think we both ended up in tears at one point or another. **

**I did not expect everything to come out like it has. Even after i started writing it, I did NOT expect them to end up kissing in this one. But Alice and Bella's character's hijacked the chapter from the start. And well... there's the result. Needless to say I've got about 30k words of text written that needs to be revised. But I wasn't going to bend the character's personalities just to make it easier on me. I hope you all appreciate the personality consistency.**

**Whoda thunk Bella and Alice would kiss before Eliza and Leah? O_O wtf! It just is a testament to their different personalities. But it ought to make things interesting going forward. **

**3) Shoutouts to Neb87 and Bellice Fan who were the first two who guessed Bree. I have a pretty good idea what I want to do with her character. So hopefully she should add some more flavor. :D **

**4)DarkBella's author's notes: After this chapter Kathryn will move past my highest reviewed story ever. I was really proud of how well that story did but I am even happier with what Kathryn is accomplishing here. I am so happy for her I'm about to burst. She's on to something really special and I only hope I can stay on for the ride :-) She surpasses me in every way.**

**5) I really don't surpass her. This is a team effort and it's awesome because she and i work together. And I couldn't be happier with the arrangement**

**6) The amount of reviews the last two chapters have been AMAZING. THANK YOU.**

**Please let me know how you think we did on this chapter. It was a major challenge for both of us, and all you readers have waited a long time for this. I sincerely hope it was worth the wait and it didn't disappoint. Please read and review. **


	28. A Short Sad Life

**Chapter 28**

Every vampire in the clearing watched in silence, with obvious relief evident on their somber faces, as Alice turned Isabella away from Edward and the two dark figures vanished into the shadowed gloom of the canopied darkness. None of them could explain what had just happened, since Isabella seemed so suddenly and oddly compliant. Eliza watched the two of them walk slowly out of the clearing with a look of surprise on her face.

Even though no one had been killed, the sheer savagery of Isabella's outburst was somehow far more terrifying than the fight with the newborns minutes earlier. There was a sharp contrast between the primal ferocity of the melee against newborn army, and the violent uncontrolled rage that Isabella displayed towards Edward. The former looked and felt like explosions of short controlled bursts of rage, the latter was an unbridled yet tightly focused fury.

No one moved to help Edward pull himself out of his indent in the tree. So when he pushed himself out of the trunk, he stumbled slightly as his feet hit the ground. Then he straightened up, dusted himself off and snarled at no one in particular. "What the hell is her problem?" He growled, glaring at where Isabella and Alice had disappeared from view.

Without warning, Eliza spun around and without hesitation, pulled her leg back and kicked Edward solidly between the legs. He gasped loudly in surprise, which was followed by a small annoying squeak that sounded like Mickey mouse getting squashed by the Monty Python foot. Quickly sinking to his knees with a pathetic wheezing and whimpering sound.

"She's not the one with a problem. You're the one with a problem. You're a fucking moron." Eliza said with an icy calm voice before she turned around to walk back towards the clearing, leaving him lying on the ground hunched over in a semi-fetal position. "Asshole." She said over her shoulder as she walked away.

Eliza walked until the impulse to stomp Edward into the ground lessened. Then she stopped and glanced back towards where she knew her mother was. Trying to get a sense through their connection of the tenor of Isabella's emotional state. She couldn't understand how, or why Alice hadn't been turned into dust as just another obstacle in her mother's path.

Never before had Eliza seen anything or anyone come close to reaching through to her mother when she was in that state. On the handful of occasions when she had lost her temper to that extreme, it took all of Eliza's concentration focused through their connection to pull her back to reality. The only other exception was when Eliza found herself hurt or in trouble she couldn't handle on her own. So Alice's strange and immediate effect on Isabella was a mystery that Eliza was determined to solve."

Unfortunately Eliza would have to figure it out later, in her own time, in her own way. She wasn't using their connection to spy or see through her mother's eyes at the moment. They were always aware of one another's emotional state, Eliza was just focusing on it. Her primary concern was whether or not Alice's effect had just snapped her out of it temporarily or not. So she monitored her mother's emotions, a thoughtful expression on her face. Eliza was so focused on her Mother, that she was slightly startled when Jacob stepped up beside her.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jacob asked quietly. Once he'd settled into a comfortable position next to her, he glanced in the same direction Eliza was staring, concern wrinkling his eyes in just the right way to betray his true age.

Eliza nodded, her thoughts were still mostly focused on her mother and Alice. "She's calming down, she'll be fine in a few minutes." It wasn't exactly the truth, since her mother's emotional state was swinging erratically from her normal angry state, to seething hatred, to hurt. The only real truth was somehow Isabella had gotten her control back. She winced at that hard fact, her Mother was always angry or hurt. It was something Eliza had accepted long ago, but had never felt content with. Nothing could live in perpetual anger forever without eventually destroying itself. It had been a lifelong goal to and figure out some way to give her mother something besides that anger, but it was obviously still a work in progress with minimal results thus far.

Jacob looked over his shoulder, back to where Edward was still on the ground holding his cracked crotch and groaning softly. A small sense of satisfaction spread his mouth into his old trademark grin. "You know, I've wanted to do that for about a hundred years. "

"Long overdue I'd say." Eliza and Jacob both turned their heads in surprise as Emmett stepped up close to Eliza. He didn't bother trying to hide his own smirk of amusement at Edward's current predicament. Edward looked up and glared indignantly at Emmett.

Eliza grinned a little bit, while Jacob looked at Emmett warily. The two of them were both large and had similar frames so they stood eye to eye. Eliza could almost feel the testosterone start to flow. Before either could open their mouth she turned, "Emmett, this is Jacob Black, Alpha of the pack. Jacob, this is Emmett Cullen, he's nothing like the prick on the ground."

Jacob hesitated a moment and then laughed, and after a moment he offered his hand to Emmett. Emmett blinked in surprise but reached out to shake the proffered hand.

Eliza glanced around, her eyes drawn back over where Leah remained crouched next to the vampire girl who was curled up on the ground. She caught Leah's eye to make sure she was okay. Leah responded with a reassuring smile, they both let the eye contact linger a little longer than needed.

Then Eliza turned to look from Jacob to Emmett, and then did a long sweep of the bodies lying all over the meadow. "I'm going to go back and check on the girl. Jacob, would you mind lending a hand for a bit to help us clean up this mess?"

Jacob nodded and began to pick up the scattered body parts to carry them over to the fire. As if on cue the rest of his pack members began to pick up the pieces and appendages. Realizing what the pack was up to, the Denali clan seemed to snap out of their momentary fugue and began to help with the clean up as well.

Finally some of the Cullens began to pitch in, except for Edward who remained on his knees in a semi-fetal position for several minutes, clearly hurt when none of his family had come to check on him. Esme and Rosalie both stayed close to Leah and the frightened teen girl. The compassion on Esme's face was less surprising to Eliza than the concern etched on Rosalie's.

Eliza was headed over toward Leah and the girl when something unexpected made her freeze in mid-step. For just a second it had seemed like her mother was losing control. Eliza tensed in preparation to spend a tremendous amount of effort to try and stop her mother from killing Alice. And then… she couldn't believe it. Her eyes went wide. For a brief moment she could feel what was happening between them. It wasn't just the intensity of the feeling, it was the alien nature of it. Eliza closed herself off as much as possible and looked down guiltily, as if she'd been caught peeping.

No one seemed to catch the momentary hesitation as Eliza covered the hiccup in her stride, and quickly closed the distance to Leah, Rosalie, and Esme who were hovering over the terrified vampire girl she'd rescued. She tried to speak soothingly to the girl in an attempt to ease her out of the fetal position, but it didn't help, if anything she seemed to make the poor girl shake a bit more violently.

Eliza had still made no progress several minutes later, when Isabella and Alice walked back into the clearing. Eliza noticed with mild curiosity that this time she had Alice was tow, their hands were joined tightly, but at least Isabella's expression had returned to its normal impassive scowl, but she could tell she was distracted by something.

Once Isabella had stepped back into the clearing, she gave the area a long exaggerated examination taking in every possible detail and danger. First, her eyes found Eliza crouched down by the girl, then they passed over Esme and Leah, very briefly at Edward holding himself like a toddler waiting to use the potty, and then finally ending on the group adding body parts to the giant bon fire. The entire time she was intensely aware of Alice's fingers intertwined with hers, but couldn't seem to make herself let them go. She was amazed at how… calm just holding on to Alice made her feel.

Memories arose unbidden to her mind, and without consciously drawing on them Isabella flashed back to her fuzzy human days. To the times when Alice used to touch her. Foreign feelings surged up inside of her, as she remembered just how soothing she used to find Alice's touch. She recalled with perfect clarity Alice holding her hand just like this to reassure her at times, or to encourage her on some trip through the mall, or when they would hug and from that simple embrace Isabella's bad day would turn around entirely. She remembered that Alice was always there as a shoulder to cry on when she was upset, except when Edward was hovering.

However, the memory of their kiss was not only the strongest of those memories, but dominated her thoughts. She still couldn't figure out why the hell she'd done it. She didn't think it was a conscious decision. Hell, she didn't know what to think, or even what was going through her mind at the time? She needed time to sort it out, but she had no interest in sussing out her problems surrounded by this assorted group. Alice's expression didn't help matters at all, she looked content. Yet she wasn't demanding answers of Isabella, which was a relief because she wasn't sure she had any.

Alice may have looked content, but her own emotions were a jumble. Hearing about the horrors her Bella had to endure, made her feel fragile like glass, and nauseous as if she still had the human capacity to vomit. The idea of inflicting that on anyone, especially Bella angered her far more than she thought possible. She was angry at Edward, angry at her whole family, but mostly angry at herself for leaving Isabella alone and helpless against a monster that would do that to her.

The conflict came because even though she felt horrible over Bella's past. She was also floating, and had to resist the urge to skip as she came into the clearing. Isabella had kissed her. She hadn't expected it. Hadn't dreamt of it. Certainly not then, but Isabella had done it. The idea that somewhere deep inside, Isabella could still feel something like that thrilled Alice in a way she'd never thought possible.

Alice kept turning it over and over in her head. What had been done to Isabella made her want to weep, but the emotions went further than simple grief or even empathy. It had become more and more obvious that Bella wasn't "okay". What she had gone through had not just broken her, it went far beyond being broken. This Isabella was mentally _ill._ Alice had no idea how this woman even managed to be functional. In every conceivable way Alice could imagine, this Isabella was not anyone resembling the girl who had been abducted and taken to the cabin all those years ago. In a very real way, Victoria had killed that Bella.

As Alice recognized this, it grounded her and allowed her to gain enough emotional distance so that she didn't immediately throw herself at Isabella, baring her soul and declaring her love. That wasn't what Isabella needed then, she needed help, understanding, catharsis, forgiveness and… something more. This Isabella had built up a shell of anger and fury to protect herself. Unfortunately Alice could also see there were some cracks in the shell. Some old, like the ones created from her relationship with Eliza. To the new one formed with their kiss. She knew Isabella needed a lot of healing, she just hoped some of the healing could occur before the shell shattered.

Alice looked around the clearing, her eyes falling on the tree Isabella had toppled with a single punch. Before she could comment though, Jacob approached.

"She still claims not to have a temper." Jacob said walking up to the duo with a toothy grin. "There are probably splinters from that tree that landed miles from here."

Alice's eyes went flat for a moment, glancing at Isabella to see if she had taken offense. If she had, Alice might have done her best to make sure that Jacob shared the tree's fate.

Instead Isabella gave a very small chuckle, a bit of tension the she had built up flowing out of her from the teasing comment. After a few long seconds of hesitation Isabella turned to Alice, "This is Jacob Black. He's the Alpha of the pack, and an old friend."

Alice surprised them both by offering her hand to Jacob. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Alice. Hoping to be a friend."

Jacob hesitated a moment and then took the offered hand briefly. Shaking hands with two vampires in one night was quite a shock to his system. After Alice let go he clenched his fist several times, adjusting to the cool flesh of a vampire, it was as if he were worried vampirism was catching. "It's nice to meet you." Jacob turned his attention back to Isabella, "If you're okay, we definitely have to talk. "

Isabella nodded, but her attention was diverted by an urgent shout from Eliza. "Mom, I need your help over here. Something's… not right."

Esme's voice rang out a moment later, sounding more urgent. "Carlisle, come quick."

Isabella moved quickly, with Jacob and Alice in tow, to where Eliza, Leah, Rosalie, Esme and now Carlisle were all crouched around the teen vampire. Isabella took closer note of the girl's feature's this time. She was petite, with dark hair in a ragged pony tail. Isabella could see what had drawn Eliza's concern.

The girl was laying on the ground. Her eyes were closed, but her face was clenched in pain. Her arms and legs were moving in irregular spasms, and the girl was uttering helpless little whimpers as her entire body convulsed randomly.

Carlisle was crouched over the girl before Isabella got there. His face was a puzzled scowl. He put his hand on one of the girls arms and lifted it slightly. The girl didn't protest but the arm spasmed every few seconds in Carlisle's hand. Beneath the girl's pale skin were the faint grey lines of her veins.

Eliza frowned at the sight and turned to her mother with a confused frown on her face. Isabella shook her head slightly, indicating she had no idea what to make of it. She turned to Carlisle who shook his head slowly. "We should get her inside, so I can take a closer look at her."

Isabella nodded slowly and then glanced around, her eyes falling on Jacob. "Maybe we should take her to our place instead. A bit more… inclusive."

Carlisle glanced up and followed Isabella's gaze to Jacob and then shook his head, replying almost absently. "Don't be silly, the Quileutes are welcome in our home. Esme, could you get my office ready, I need to examine her?" He completely ignored the gagging and retching sound that Rosalie was making. Esme nodded and blurred away from the girl to the house.

The shaking girl was looking around at the faces surrounding her, and when Carlisle leaned down to take her in his arms and she flinched away from him with a slight snarl that could've been mistaken for whimper. Then she scrambled weakly backwards to where Eliza and Isabella knelt side by side. It actually seemed like she was trying to crawl closer to Isabella than anyone.

"I'll carry her Carlisle." Isabella stated, cutting Eliza off before she could make the offer. Isabella didn't know what was happening to the girl, but if, for some reason, the girl suddenly lashed out, she didn't want it to be Eliza who was carrying her. Isabella slowly slid her arms under the girl prepared for anything, to Isabella's surprise although she seized once at the contact, she didn't pull away.

Once Isabella had the girl in her arms, she noticed the odd grey veins in her neck had spread up to her cheeks. She stood up and started towards the Cullen house, without looking she knew Jacob, Eliza, Leah and Carlisle were all walking with her.

Carlisle pushed ahead of the group so that he could open the door for Isabella. "My office is ups-"

"I remember where it is." Isabella interrupted in a deliberately flat tone of voice. She was focused on the task at hand, and made her way quickly through the house that only yesterday she had thought she would never set foot in again. The flashes of fuzzy human memories began to flood into her conscious thoughts again, threatening to distract her, but she refused to let them overwhelm her. Walking through the open door to Carlisle's office she find Esme, had already prepared the couch with a pillow and shifting of cushions. There was also an assortment of examination tools spread out on a mobile tray.

Isabella set the girl down on the couch gently, and slid her arms from beneath her. However when she attempted to move back, the girl immediately snapped out a trembling hand and snatched Isabella's. "Th..thirsty" the girl croaked out. Then she opened her eyes despite another spasm of pain, and Isabella saw that the irises were completely black, a sign of pure hunger. Then fell back and closed her eyes again, but kept her fingers wrapped around Isabella's hand like she were drowning in a vast ocean and Isabella was a life preserver. Alice rearranged the pillows at the girl's feet to better accommodate her. She was unsure of the girl, her brow furrowed with concern.

Isabella frowned, and looked up at Carlisle who shook his head slightly, "I can run to the hospital. I should be able to lift some blood packs without too much of a problem."

"That's okay. We've got some extra. Eliza…?" Isabella glanced up to see the retreating form of her daughter already headed out the door.

_**"I'll be back. How many do you think we'll need?" **_Eliza's voice rang softly in her mother's mind.

_**"Bring everything Henry has. Our supplies should get here next week. I don't know how much this girl will need."**_Isabella replied. Eliza flashed back a wordless agreement. In the much brighter light of the house Isabella saw the grey lines of the girls' veins were darkest on her neck, but they had traveled out from that point not only up onto her face but also down her arms all the way down to her hands.

Carlisle moved in closer to the girl, crouching beside Isabella. When Isabella shifted slightly move out of Carlisle's way the grip on her hand tightened. Isabella murmured reassuringly as Carlisle looked at the girl's hands closely. "It's okay sweetie, he's a doctor. He's just trying to figure out what's wrong with you. Can you tell me your name?" Isabella did her best to keep her voice gentle and encouraging.

The girl's black eyes locked on Isabella's again, her entire body contracted once before settling again. Her voice was again a croak, "Br..ee."

"It's nice to meet you Bree, I'm Isabella. The doctor looking you over is Carlisle. He's going to try and help you." Isabella smiled awkwardly trying her best to reassure the teen.

"Hurtssss… so much" Bree's voice came out in a long drawn out hiss.

Isabella winced at the pain, she wasn't normally empathic but she could remember her own hunger hurting like that. She glanced at Carlisle who had moved down to the girl's legs. Esme had removed the remains of her shoes at Carlisle's silent request. Even before he tore away the tattered denim, Isabella could see that the grey lines extended down all the way down to her toes as well.

Carlisle looked up at Bree's face and said gently, "I'm going to apply a little bit of pressure against a few points on your leg. Let me know if it hurts." He waited until Bree nodded in acknowledgement, though she didn't look down at Carlisle. She kept her eyes locked on Isabella's face.

She didn't react when Carlisle lightly set his hands on her legs, just letting his skin contact hers, but as soon as Carlisle squeezed with any force she flinched, pulled her leg away, and whimpered. He immediately stopped and shifted his hands, repeating the test in different places. After checking several areas, he finally stopped and murmured a quiet apology to the girl.

Eliza strode back into the room carrying a medium sized blue cooler. She set the cooler down on Carlisle's desk and removed a bag of blood. Isabella glanced at Carlisle who was quietly watching Bree, a puzzled look of contemplation on his face. He caught Isabella's questioning glance and nodded his assent.

Eliza hadn't waited for the nod from Carlisle before moving forward with the bag and handing it to Bree. Bree took one look at it, snatched it up, and brought it to her mouth biting right through the plastic to drink in the thick viscous liquid in long greedy gulps. The room was silent as she drained the bag of blood. When she finished Eliza was ready with a second bag, that she also eagerly bit into.

To fill the silence Isabella spoke up, giving introductions to everyone "Eliza, this is Bree. Bree this is my daughter Eliza. The doctor's name is Carlisle, I promise he'll take good care of you. "

"It's a pleasure to meet you Bree." Eliza said quietly keeping her tone soft like her mother's.

Bree looked up and nodded slightly by way of greeting but didn't shift her focus from drinking. The group watched as she finished a second bag, and started on a third bag. Isabella noted that the spasms had almost completely stopped, coupled with a slight fading of the grey lines.

Isabella felt awkward just staring at the girl, so she looked up at Eliza. "How are things downstairs?" She asked, more to fill time with conversation than from any real worry.

"Things are… crowded." Eliza sighed, and rolled her eyes for effect. "Tense at best. Jacob, Leah, and several of the pack are waiting to talk to us. They're in one corner of the living room. The Cullens and the Denali are on the other side of the room, pressing themselves into furniture and walls to get as far away from the pack as possible. There's also a lot of mouthing off going on. Mostly Rosalie griping about how they're filthy mutts, and Jacob making snide jokes about blondes. I think he's having a ball since his audience is primarily blonde."

Isabella sighed and rolled her eyes as well, "You tell Jacob if he doesn't behave, I'm going to come down there and punch him in the face again. This time it won't be my hand that breaks."

Esme spoke up after Isabella, "I'll come down with you, Rosalie should know better than to throw insults at our guests. She has better manners than that."

Eliza grinned a little bit and nodded. She crouched down to look Bree in the eyes. "I'm going to be right downstairs if you need anything. Mom's right here and one of us will be close. I promise."

Bree looked up and nodded a little bit. She was slowing as she worked her way through the third bag of blood, and her eyes were receding from black to the more normal bright red of a newborn. Eliza waved a little bit as she headed out the door, Esme just behind her. Just before Esme stepped out of the door, Carlisle looked up at her and after a cautious glance at Isabella asked "Would you see if Edward would come up here?"

Esme hesitated with a tentative glance of her own at Isabella, who after several seconds nodded her head very slightly.

Isabella squeezed Bree's hand gently, her eyes moving over Bree's exposed skin. The introduction of blood in her system clearly had a good effect, since the lines of grey had faded to almost nothing. Though the ones around her neck, spreading up to her jaw and down along her collarbone remained noticeably darker.

"Are you feeling any better now?" She asked quietly. Isabella deliberately ignored the arrival of Edward who glowered at her as he came into the room. Carlisle shut the door to his study gently, grateful that he had long ago had it soundproofed. He stepped to the foot of the couch and looked down at Bree.

Despite the compassionate look on Carlisle's face, Bree shrunk back into the cushions of the couch with a fearful look on her face. Seeing her reaction, he stepped back and held his hands at his sides in the most non-threatening manner he could think of.

Bree nodded slowly "It still… hurts, but not as bad now." She looked up fearfully at Carlisle, Edward and then over at over Isabella's shoulder at Alice. "Are… are you going to kill me and drink my blood now?"

Carlisle looked taken aback by that. "What? No…" He was so caught off guard by the question that he wasn't ready with a coherent response.

Isabella squeezed Bree's hand gently, getting her attention. She seemed to relax when she looked in Isabella's eyes. "I promise you sweetheart. No one here is going to hurt you or kill you."

"Those others wanted to kill me before you two stopped them." Bree countered, her voice wary. Her arm spasmed slightly while she talked.

It was Alice who spoke up in reply. "They were just upset. It's been a long night for them. Their home was destroyed, and they had to run for their lives. They were angry, and blamed you because you were part of the group that attacked them."

Isabella spoke up in an encouraging tone, "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? We only know your name. "

Bree seemed to consider that a moment, before nodding slowly. "Like I said. My name is Bree, Bree Tanner." She saw Isabella encouraging her with a nod so she continued. "I'm originally from Idaho, but I ran away."

She looked up guiltily as if she expected a scolding for being a runaway. When she didn't get any reproving looks, she sighed slightly in relief. "I sort of ended up in Fairbanks, and was alternating between living on the street and living in a homeless shelter on the really cold nights. I tried to find a job, but no one wants to hire a fifteen year old under the table. So I learned to scrape by." Bree made a disgusted face but didn't go into details on needing to steal and dumpster dive simply to survive

"I was out one night a few months ago, and bumped into this guy in an alley. He saw me digging through a dumpster and offered to buy me a bite to eat." She looked sheepish for a moment, "Needless to say I did get a bite, but not the one I was looking for. I remember the fire, and when it stopped, I was…. this." She looked down at her hands and at the three empty bags of blood that still rested on her stomach.

Isabella nodded and catching Bree's glance down towards the bags, reached out and took the empties off her stomach, sliding them behind her. Alice took the cue and snatched them up quickly, and deposited them into the biohazard trash can set near Carlisle's desk as discreetly as possible.

Bree looked around. "I don't… remember the first few days they were all kind of a blur. I remember being thirsty and feeding. But when I calmed down. There were about… ten or eleven of us. We were living in the basement of this condemned building, you know… only able to go out at night."

Bree broke off as the hand holding Isabella's started to spasm, and then she winced in pain. Carlisle frowned and moved a little closer to observe. This time Bree didn't flinch back though she watched him warily, before continuing. "We spent most of our time down there, obviously limited to nighttime outings. Once a week this polite but kinda smarmy guy would show up and give us these injections that he said would make us stronger and eventually protect us from the sun. Every so often, after an injection he'd take a few blood samples from some of us."

Isabella glanced out of the corner of her eye at Carlisle who was openly frowning. Isabella kept her voice very rigidly under control. "Do you remember the guy's name?"

Bree frowned a little bit. "Everyone called him Doctor Tepes. Although the last time he showed up, he brought a couple of friends with him along another group of vampires, I overheard some of their conversation and I think one of them called him Joham."

Isabella's entire jaw clenched, and she gritted her teeth for several long seconds. Her entire body tensed up and with great difficulty she managed to not crush Bree's hand. Isabella's reaction was strong enough that Carlisle turned his attention to her for several moments.

Isabella felt a hand come to rest gently on her shoulder. She knew without turning around that it was Alice who was there supporting her without words. She felt an inexplicable sense of calmness settle in her, and idly wondered if Jasper was trying to help from downstairs. She dismissed the thought as she looked at Bree. Her voice was calm and steady enough to surprise even her. "Why don't you tell us about what you overheard and tell us about the group? You said they forced you to go along. We won't blame you or anything, but we'd like to know more."

Bree nodded a little bit, "Like I said, last night Dr. Tepes showed up, but he wasn't by himself like usual. He brought a two vampires that seemed like his friends and a whole other group of vampires. There were about fifteen or so. They had us go out to hunt, but instructed us to only feed on hikers and campers so that we didn't to draw any unnecessary attention. I got separated from the group. When I came back early I heard the three of them talking. I think there were a few things they said that seemed important; _'were running out of time with this batch,'_ and _'we have to move soon before they start dying.'_ And that _'Someone has already disrupted our chances at getting at the Olympic Coven, probably those accursed Volturi.' _I didn't really understand what they meant but it frightened me."

"Dr. Tepes agreed, and said _'I've only seen failure in this batch, it isn't working and none of these newborns have any worthwhile gifts.' _It wasn't long after when the rest of the group got back. Dr. Tepes female friend, Aliyah I think, got up and started talking to us. She told us all about the yellow-eyes. She told us all about them, and even how to kill them. She got everyone else so riled up and mad that they were all chanting 'kill, kill, kill." I went along with them, but I thought they were all crazy." Bree glanced up at the yellow eyes of Carlisle and seemed to shift slightly in nervousness and still a touch of fear.

Carlisle's brow twisted in puzzlement, a look that was reflected on both Alice and Isabella's face. Isabella was the one to ask the question. " What did they say to make you afraid of the yellow eyes?" She spoke gently again, not wanting to work her up.

Bree met Isabella's red eyes, looking shocked that she'd even be asking that question. "She said it's because they kill and feed on other vampires to live. That's why their eyes are yellow and not red. She told us they were coming for us, but that it didn't matter because she had found the house they were hiding at. She pulled together our group and another group of vampires she knew that were also tired of getting hunted by the yellow eyes. She also said she had friends who were wolves who wanted to help. She said we could stop them once and for all. Dr. Tepes even gave us all a double sized dose of injections so we would be extra strong for the fight. We went to their house tonight but they managed to escape. We chased them down here and then… you. I didn't want to hurt anyone… _but you're like me_… why did you help _them_?" Her eyes shifted from Isabella's red eyes towards Carlisle's yellow as she finished.

Isabella shook her head gently, "They lied to you. A vampire with yellow eyes only feeds off of animals, not humans, and definitely not vampires." Her voice was gentle. The girl's sudden attachment to her over any of the others, even Eliza, was now much more understandable. Isabella was the only vampire here with red eyes.

Bree looked up in disbelief at Carlisle, seeking confirmation. "You… can do that? live off animals?" Carlisle nodded slowly. Bree looked like she was going to say more when her entire body shook again, the spasm clearly becoming more violent. Bree let out a whimper of pain and asked, plaintively, "What's wrong with me?"

Carlisle frowned and spoke up. "I'm… not sure. Do you mind if I take a blood sample, get a closer look at what's going on?"

Bree glanced at Isabella as if seeking reassurance. Isabella nodded encouragingly, and then Bree nodded a little bit. Carlisle moved to the desk and got out a metal syringe with a thick looking needle. He moved over to Bree and placed the thick needle against her neck. She turned her head and closed her eyes. Isabella squeezed her hand as Carlisle quickly plunged the needle in and quickly filled the syringe. He withdrew the needle and held up the syringe. "I'll take a look here and see what I can find out."

He walked away to a microscope that stood on the corner of his desk and began to prepare a slide.

Bree spasmed again as Carlisle moved away. Isabella squeezed her hand gently. Bree met her eyes again. "They really live on animals?" She asked with a touch of hope in her eyes. When Isabella nodded, Bree closed her eyes and asked, "I… don't understand. Why would they lie to us?"

Rather than answer Isabella just squeezed her hand gently. It was several minutes later when Carlisle got up from around his desk and gestured with a slight nod of his head to the hallway. Isabella nodded slightly. She leaned forward and murmured to the girl. "I'm just going to step down stairs and see how things are going. I promise if you need me, I'll be right back."

Bree's eyes flew open, searching Isabella's face as she trembled in mild terror, but nodded once in tentative acknowledgement.

Carlisle spoke up, "Bree… is it okay if Esme stays with you for awhile? She'll just sit in a chair across the room and won't come close if you don't want her to."

Bree looked up at Carlisle for a moment before she nodded again, a nod that was interrupted by another spasm. Carlisle opened his office door and called softly for Esme. He asked her to watch Bree for a few minutes. His look was grave, and she didn't need words to get an idea of what he was leaving unsaid. He stopped her and whispered something, even Isabella's hearing didn't catch. Esme's face looked shocked and then it looked like she was going to cry. Esme entered the room as Carlisle left, followed by Edward, then Alice, and then lastly Isabella, who gave the girl a reassuring smile before stepping out.

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Eliza descended the stairs from Carlisle's office. looking at the large living room with a roll of her eyes. On one side of the room clustered the Cullens and the Denali. On the other side was the wolf pack. Neither side was talking at the moment, though Eliza was unsure if that was an improvement or a sign that hostilities were close to breaking out.

She hesitated only a moment at the bottom of the stairs, letting Esme pass her. Esme made a beeline right for Rosalie with a stern expression on her face and began a whispered conversation. Eliza sighed before she walked around the white furniture in the living room, and sat down on the couch, deliberately placing herself right in the center of the room.

She looked over at Jacob with a raised eyebrow. "Mom says that if you aren't polite, she'll come down here and punch you in the face again. This time it won't be her hand that breaks." Eliza kept her tone light to make it clear she wasn't overtly threatening him.

The tactic worked because Jacob laughed, breaking the tension slightly. Then a silence descended for a few minutes until Leah suddenly moved forward, stepping around Jacob. She walked around the couch to sit down next to Eliza nervously. Leah was very tentative about her action, concerned Eliza might not want her all that close when they were around other vampires. She seemed openly relieved when Eliza actually shifted subtly closer to her. Eliza gave her a happy grin, which caused her to blush slightly and grin back.

"You and your Mom sure did a number on those vampires. You didn't leave very many for us." Leah said.

Eliza gave Leah a playfully sulky look, "I didn't know we'd left any for you. I thought we got them all." While the two of them talked, Jacob walked around to sit on the end of the couch closest to his pack mates. It wasn't much but it was a start. On the other side of the room, Emmet brushed past Rosalie's restraining grip and came forward to take a seat in the easy chair located much closer to the center of the room. He gave Eliza a friendly grin despite the fact that he could feel the heat of Rosalie's gaze on the back of his neck.

Leah laughed a little bit, "There were three that were lagging behind the group. They were hurt or something already. They were muttering about hurrying or they'd miss the killing. It took us about four whole seconds to take them down."

Eliza smiled a little proudly, "Well I'm glad we left you enough to keep you awake. I told you, we're pretty damn effective."

"How can you stand to sit on the same side of the room with those… mutts and that… horrible smell?" snapped a voice that sounded like she'd just been pushed way past the limit of her patience. Eliza turned her head to see Rosalie's head inclined toward Emmett, but her eyes were on Eliza.

"Rosalie, I told you about having manners in our house!" Esme scolded, though the comment seemed to have no effect on Rosalie's seething glare.

Eliza's voice rose to cut off the growls emanating from the throats of several of the pack members. "Well geeze. I don't know. Maybe I trust people on one side of this room. Maybe they have something valuable to contribute to a discussion. Maybe it's that I don't question the loyalty or their bond. Or… maybe… just maybe… I much prefer the scent of wolves on one side of this room, to the stench of _**bitch **_on the other."

Rosalie's expression was openmouthed shock. Emmett started coughing in a weak attempt to cover up a laugh. The only thing that saved him from Rosalie's wrath, was that dark haired Adara, broke out in helpless peals of laughter. Her laughter joined the shock and then the chuckles from the wolf pack.

Rosalie turned and glared at Adara who ignored her. Taking the initiative, Adara stepped forward and moved around to sit at the end of the couch. "Hi, I'm Adara" She greeted Eliza with a nod of her head and then extended the greeting to the wolf pack with a wave.

Eliza smiled, and gestured to those sitting on her side of the couch with her, now numbering three after Jacob's wife moved to sit down beside him. "This is Leah, and Tekali, and that's the pack alpha Jacob." Leah smiled tentatively in response. Tekali actually gave a small return wave and Jacob nodded his head in greeting.

Eliza turned her attention back to the pack. "Like I was saying before we were so… _bitchily _interrupted. Mom and I are pretty effective, given our specific skill sets, though probably not quite as effective as Jane and Alec."

"Jane and Alec?" Jacob asked curiously.

Eliza frowned, "Arguably the two most powerful vampires in existence. Jane can cause people to feel things just by looking at them. One glance can have you writhing around on the ground in the worst pain you can imagine. I'm told it's like someone holding burning iron to every part of your body. She can also effect a dozen or so people at once. Alec's power is worse… or better, depending on how you look at it. He can selectively cut off some or all of his victim's senses. I'm told it's like suddenly being in a pitch black room with no sense of what's going on around you. Even worse he can blanket an area, so anyone in it suddenly loses whatever senses he chooses."

It was Carmen who spoke up from the group of Denali. Her brow was knitted in confusion. "You're told? I know for a fact that part of Volturi guard training involves being exposed to both of their powers. Unless things have majorly changed."

Eliza shook her head, meeting Carmen's challenging gaze. "Nope, things haven't changed. That's still part of the training."

"Then you should know exactly how it feels." Carmen said with a frown of puzzlement.

"Other than feeling slightly uneasy when Jane glared at me? I mean… seriously she looks like a demented angel when she's using her powers. It's just neither of their gifts work on us." Eliza said with a faint trace of smugness. Her reply caused some glances around the members of the Denali. She could tell they were significant, but not why.

Jacob glanced up the stairs, "So what's the deal with the girl?" he inquired curiously.

Eliza frowned a little bit, "Her name is Bree. She was scared and hiding. She wasn't trying to hurt anyone." Eliza glanced at Leah as her voice dropped slightly, echoing the words she had said to Leah the night of the council meeting. "We don't kill for fun or pleasure. Sometimes there's just no choice. I had a choice with her. Mom's still up with her right now."

Jacob nodded a little bit, his face serious as he spoke up again. "Is she going to be long? We really need to talk."

Eliza's expression turned serious in response to his tone, "She might be awhile. What's going on?"

"It's about the wolves we faced tonight. They were… different from us." For once Jacob shifted nervously in his seat as he tried to figure out how to explain.

Eliza leaned forward on the couch, her brow furrowed in curiosity. "What do you mean they were different?"

Jacob frowned a little bit, "There were two different types of wolves this time. Five of them were like us but… not like us." Jacob ran a hand through his hair. He was clearly trying to put his thoughts into words for once. "We were out in the free air this time so it was easier to assess their smell. Their scent was weird... different... I'm sorry I don't know how else to describe it. I know this won't make sense, but it's like they were like us… but in my bones I knew they shouldn't exist." He frowned, clearly not thinking the description was adequate, but clearly not having any idea how to conjure the right words.

Eliza frowned, her expression fixed and puzzled. "You said five out of the six of them smelled like that? What was the sixth one like?"

Jacob nodded his head at that, "Yeah, the sixth one was completely different. He wasn't like us, he was something else. When attacked them , the five wolves went down almost immediately. We do know how to take down our own kind. But this sixth wolf changed. He turned into something that wasn't like any wolf I've ever seen before."

"What was it like? Could you describe it?" The question came from Eleazar as he stepped forward, his voice intense and his eyes focused on Jacob as he moved to the center of the room.

Jacob nodded. "He was big. Almost as big as I am when I shift. But he stood on two legs and was more human."

Eleazar was still staring intently at Jacob, "Did you manage to kill it?"

Jacob frowned at the expression on Eleazar's face, "Yes of course. It threw us off for a minute, but there were nine of us and one of him. It wasn't really a fair fight…"

"Did he manage to bite any of you? At all?" Eleazar asked glancing up at the pack behind him. The intensity of his question throwing both Jacob and Eliza off.

Jacob shook his head, "No, we circled and went for his back and legs. He went down pretty quick."

Eleazar seemed to relax somewhat at that, but it was Tanya who spoke up next addressing Eleazar. "You don't think it was…"

Eleazar's brow knit up and he slowly shrugged, "I don't know… what he's describing sounds like one. But… I thought they were extinct; and I was always told they never run in packs."

There was a slight pause when Carlisle called for Esme from upstairs, and she got out of her chair to ascend the stairs. Jacob spoke up a his eyes narrowed in a glare at Eleazar, "You mind clueing us in on what you're talking about?"

It was Eliza who replied, a grimace on her face as she crossed her arms. "You remember how I told you that you were shifters and not real werewolves?" She waited until Jacob nodded, "Well, what you describe sounds like a real werewolf; one of the Children of the Moon."

Her gaze met Eleazar's and he gave a slight nod of agreement. "The problem is like he said. They're supposed to be extinct. Now one just shows up?"

The conversation was interrupted by the sight of Carlisle, Edward, Alice and Isabella descending the stairs.

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**Author's note:**

**1) Whoo. Longer chapter but I didn't see a good breaking point O_O so. there we go. ****Yellow eyed cannibals! AHH! O_O**

**2) I couldn't go through a story like this without including Bree at least for a little while :O **

**3) I had a couple people comment on the last chapter that it felt weird for Bella to go from angry to kissing. And I wanted to point out a couple of things in case they weren't made obvious by this chapter. **

**Bella didn't make the conscious decision to kiss Alice. Bella really only has two settings "in control" and "instincts." She has no freaking clue what it means for her as a person. z she was trying to warn off Alice and getting angrier and los t control but deep down she doesn't want to kill Alice so her instincts took over and did something else. Something she's not quite prepared for. **

**Alice realizes Bella isn't ready for anything and she isn't going to push Bella. She's also dealing with the guilt of what Bella went through. **

**Things are not going to be immediately lovey dovey and cuddly and a relationship isn't going to be quick or anything. Just to set some of you at ease. (Or irritate the shit out of you) **

**4) Once again thanks to DarkBella who's ideas helped craft this story. She truly is a wonderful writer. **

**5) Thanks this time also go out to a consistent reviewer. Samantha Minuet who also stepped up and provided amazing collaborative services for this chapter especially when I was all grumpy.^_^**

**6) Less emotional than in the past. But back to plot movement.**

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and responses! They really are amazing! Please continue!**

**Also, I'm looking for someone who has alot of knowledge of japanese culture and history. (and I mean real culture, particularly myths, not just watches alot of anime.) I need to ask some questions for story purposes. If it's you please PM me here or yahoo me at Kathryn_518**

**Thank you ^_^**


	29. Elementary, my dear Eliza

**Chapter 29**

Isabella hardly waited to clear the bottom of the stairs before turning to Carlisle. "Tell me you figured out what's happening to her?" She barked out the question, clearly agitated.

Carlisle frowned, "Yes and no. I think I understand what is happening to her. I just don't have any idea how it's possible."

"Well, spit it out." Isabella demanded, crossing her arms. Her outward anger masking her very real fear for the girl.

"There is something virulent and aggressive in her blood venom that is systematically breaking down her cellular structure. Her cells are literally being cannibalized by this... well if she were human, I'd say she was poisoned, but poison doesn't work on vampire physiology. Whatever it is, the effect it's having on her body is devastating." Carlisle said with a defeated sigh. He looked sad and at a loss for what to do next as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He took a deep pointless breath to clear his head and organize his thoughts before continuing. "I wish I had better news, I know she means something to you. What I can extrapolate based on what Bree told us, those injections that Joham's gave her are likely the source of her condition. That is if she was telling the truth about everything."

Eliza bolted upright rigidly, her face completely clouding over with a dark look. Jasper winced slightly at the strength of emotion pouring off of Eliza. But Edward spoke up first. "She wasn't lying. Or at least she believes everything she told us was true. Her thoughts have been rather chaotic, but they cleared up for a while after she fed. The clarity is already fading though. She has some weird ideas about us, and was absolutely convinced that our yellow eyes meant that we cannibalized other vampires." He seemed relatively ambivalent, but the rest of the room stared at him with startled, confused, and offended glares. He didn't seem to notice or care as he continued.

"She's a timid creature, afraid of her own shadow. Although she skulked around her master and overheard a bit of his conversation, she clearly wasn't able to reason out that they were lying to her. She has no idea what he was really injecting her with. The only thing saves her from being as bad as those other mindless newborns is that she had no reason to question what they told her." His voice held a twinge of resentful disdain for the girl, as if she were an unpleasant thing he was forced to think about against his will.

He paused again, this time he looked up at Carlisle and frowned. His gaze purposefully and pointedly evading Isabella, showing his displeasure with her over her thoughtless and insensitive attack, and with the demeaning injury that her supposed daughter subjected him to. "That's not all, when her thoughts were focused on that vampire Aliyah something occurred to me. I… think this Aliyah has some sort of ability to compel or mesmerize, maybe even literally implant thoughts into the minds of others."

Carlisle had his tilted inquisitively as he listened to his son elaborate on the poor girl's thoughts. Although he frowned at the slightly aloof way he spoke about her. He glanced at Isabella who was listening to Edward with the intensity of a concerned parent. He wasn't sure Isabella had even absorbed his son's clear disdain for the girl, but he was glad that she didn't seem to be reacting to it. Edward on the other hand only could see his Bella staring at him with rapt attention. He smiled, reveling in what that meant, she was beginning to come back to him. He puffed his chest out slightly before finishing his thought. "When those newborns attacked. They were all thinking the same thing, kill the Denali."

A puzzled look crossed Isabella's face. "Of course that's what they were thinking, that was their goal right? They were all thinking about how they were going to kill the yellow-eyes?"

Edward shook his head with a slightly smug look. "No, you don't understand. It was more mechanical than that. They were all repeating the same thing over and over in their heads, 'Kill the yellow-eyes. Kill the Denali.' It was like an army shouting cadence."

"That level of training is impossible with a newborn army." Jasper interjected.

"That's alarming, but wouldn't that make them too single minded?" Irina asked no one in particular.

"Exactly, an army can't function if all of its parts are the same piece. Think of Chess... no Checkers. Even though there are only two types of pieces the game wouldn't function without the King's ability to move backwards. Not only is it impractical, it's foolish to commit any kind of force to an engagement without a plan of action and a chain of command." Jasper sounded almost offended as he expounded upon his point.

"There was a leader, I took off his head near the beginning of the fight." Eliza said in rebuttal of Jasper's argument.

"And it's not like they had a collective mind right?" Jacob added, wincing at the glares directed at him by most of the vampires, Edward especially. Jacob met Edward's glare with a silent dare, but Edward broke eye contact before anything escalated. Edward shook off the momentary distraction and continued.

"No, I didn't get a sense that they were connected, but nonetheless they were all extremely single minded... well for except for the one in command. It was as if they were singular in purpose, and a little hollow." Edward addressed everyone's questions, and looked at Irina and Jasper directly, but he again pointedly avoided looking at either Jacob or Eliza.

"I'm not sure I follow Edward." Carlisle replied looking thoughtful.

"When someone, anyone, thinks about a task normally it isn't particularly ordered, even with us. There are usually a dozen other things that can pop up, worry for friends or comrades, connections to parts of their past, or perhaps a glance at a tree that catches their attention for a moment. None of that crossed any of their minds. Nothing except for the task at hand. They was completely focused on a singular thing, which was eliminating their enemy. Again the girl and their leader were the only ones that seemed to have clear thoughts outside that repeated command." Edward surveyed the assembled group with pride plainly evident on his face.

"Aww, look at how proud he is, like a prancing dandy pretending to be a peacock. Do you feel useful you selfish prick? Or do you have some more insults for that poor sick defenseless girl in there?" Eliza sneered at Edward, who glared at her with a look that would've killed an elephant if his gaze were lethal.

Isabella shot her a warning glare, though Eliza could feel a trace of amusement through their connection. Edward lasted all of five seconds before growling out. "At least I can do more than run errands and protect worthless..." He couldn't think of an insult good enough to describe the pointless danger that girl represented. "You selfish, conceited, uppity bitch!" Venomous spittle flew from his mouth as he screamed at her. His voice rattling the panes of glass separating the room from the forest.

Isabella stepped forward, deliberately interposing herself between the two of them, although she was at the point of throttling him herself. She kept her arms crossed and looked at Edward, and simply raised a single eyebrow. She didn't say anything but the implied threat was clear.

_**"You say another word and Emmett and I will throttle you."**_ Rosalie directed her thoughts loudly and purposefully at Edward, reinforcing the implied threat from Isabella. Inwardly he was more startled by his sister, than Bella. But he didn't let it show

Edward glared at Isabella, but any confrontation was cut short when Carlisle stepped between them. He put his hand on Edward's shoulder and pointed toward the door. His face was impassive, but he was furious with his son's behavior. He was happy that Esme wasn't in the room or she would've scolded him openly. "Perhaps you should take a step back. Go out for a bit and feed, get some fresh air, and clear your head."

Edward glared up into Carlisle's face for several moments before his shoulders slumped slightly in assent. Without another word he turned and headed out the back door, though he couldn't help looking one more time at Isabella and Eliza before he blurred away from the house.

Carlisle turned to Isabella, "I'm sorry for that. Edward has been a little... off the past few days."

Isabella nodded slowly, "I admit I don't particularly care how 'off' he feels. If he goes off Eliza like that again, I'm not sure if I'll intervene." She sighed and threw a slightly reproving look towards her daughter. "That being said, I do apologize for Eliza's rudeness."

Eliza nodded a little bit, and managed to look at least partially ashamed. "My apologies. I'll try not antagonize him anymore. I just couldn't take what he said about Bree." Carlisle nodded in acknowledgement of the apology, and gave her a soft smile when she mentioned her defense of the girl.

Isabella turned back to Carlisle, "How long until her body fights whatever this is off?"

Carlisle shook his head slowly, "That's why I pulled you down. Her body is losing the fight. As I said before the effect on her body is devastating. I'm sorry to say that her systems are shutting down one by one. Those grey lines you can see on her skin, they are a symptom of her condition."

"But we gave her blood and the grey faded. She showed improvement." Isabella protested, Eliza looked surprised at the direction the conversation had taken, and slowly stood up and moved around the couch to stand next to Isabella.

"It's unfortunately only a stopgap measure. You saw how the lines began to sharpen again even in the short time we talked." Carlisle spoke with the same solemn tone as before, his fingers again rubbing the bridge of his nose. "This substance coursing through her body is acting like a fast acting and very lethal toxin."

"So how do we draw this shit out of her?" Isabella asked, realizing then how important the girl's well being had become to her. She couldn't figure out why, but she felt very protective of this perfect stranger.

Carlisle shook his head again, "We can't. Whatever it is, it hasn't just been introduced into her body. From what I can put together from my examination and the story she related to us, the toxin has been built up over a number of weeks. I'm guessing that last injection was the straw that broke the camel's back. Or to put it another way one big overdose, combined with the repeated exposure... I'm truly sorry but there is nothing I can do for her medically. Honestly, I've never seen a compound like this, one that seems to actively fight our natural defenses. I can't understand how it could be overwhelming her venom, which is usually stronger than any bacteria, virus, toxin, or parasite that I know of. If I had gotten to her after her first or second injection, and had a single clue what the toxin was synthesized from, then maybe... But now, there is simply no time to produce an effective counteragent. I wish I could help her, but I'm afraid she's going to die."

Isabella ran a hand over her face and scowled, that was the one thing she definitely did not want to hear. She felt helpless, and if there was anything Isabella truly hated it was feeling helpless.

"I think I'm a little lost, what the hell did Joham do to her!?" Eliza's voice was edgy.

Isabella turned away from Carlisle, and looked at Eliza. In the same instant she formed a full link and replayed Bree's entire story. Eliza took several moments to process what she was shown, organizing the events into a logical explanation of the conversation her mother had just had with Carlisle. Then she relayed the stuff that happened while Isabella was upstairs.

"Bree's a vampire, they were all vampires. What possible reason would he have to inject them with anything? I mean really, vampires are like the most static creatures on the planet. What on earth could he be injecting them with that would do _that_ to her?" Eliza asked her mother, since Carlisle seemed to be at a loss.

"None of this makes sense." Isabella said with a tone of frustration. Eliza nodded a little in agreement but didn't have a reply. Isabella shifted on her feet a few moments before she turned to pace the length of the living room floor, from the doors to the kitchen to the stairs.

Isabella paced in silence for a few seconds, her head alternating between starting at the floor and the ceiling. Then she started to speak softly to herself, her voice speculative. "Think. What do we know? To start, Bree was being lied to about the injections. At least in part."

Eliza nodded and responded as if Isabella had directed the comment at her. "And the part about protection from sunlight is total bunk. What about the strength part? Could whatever he was using really augment the strength of a newborn?" She shifted left and right as she considered it, and then began to pace in the opposite direction of her mother.

Eliza and Isabella began to walk with the same stride. Then their footfalls, the subtle movements of their hands, even minute twitches in head movement and eye moment seemed to synchronize, creating the very eerie illusion that they were in fact identical. To everyone observing, they looked like a pair of shifting mirrors crisscrossing paths like a kaleidoscope. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, Emmett and Jacob would've been laughing openly, as it was there were several smiles on both sides of the room.

Isabella huffed slightly as they paced, shoulder brushing shoulder as they passed by in opposite directions. "I.. guess it's possible." she allowed, though doubt reflected in her voice. "Did they feel like they were any stronger to you?"

Eliza frowned. "You know… I was actually going to say that it seemed kind of like the opposite was happening, I mean… we're good. But those newborns went down almost too easily. I didn't notice any significant change in their strength either way, but they did seem a touch... I don't know... sluggish." She said with a thoughtful note in her voice.

"That could've been from inexperience." Jasper added trying to contribute. Both women stopped in place and snapped their heads in his direction. Jasper couldn't tell whether they were irritated by his interjection, or whether it was surprise because they'd completely forgotten about everyone in the room. After a moment they both nodded simultaneously in silent acknowledgement of the possibility of his suggestion.

Isabella stayed in place for a moment nodding a little, rubbing a thumb and a forefinger together in front of her mouth, an action she didn't realize that Eliza had chosen to do at the same time.

Emmett looked over at Jacob who was smiling widely and whispered, "this is starting to wig me out dude."

"I know, they're creepy." Jacob agreed.

"Shhh, let them think." Leah snapped at them, before turning back to watch her Eliza pace.

Totally ignoring the exchange and Jasper's interruption, Isabella responded to her daughter's observation. "I had the same thought. It seemed almost too easy. So was he just lying to them for the sake of vindictive pleasure? That doesn't fit. He had to have some reason behind it."

There was no pause as Eliza answered her mother's question with an angry scowl. "Because of his research. He's always doing trial and error. But that begs the question, what is he trying to study now? And why switch to experimenting on vampires instead of hybrids?"

"Hybrids of what?" Carlisle interjected with a curious frown.

Both Isabella and Eliza ignored him as if the question hadn't been asked, the breaks between revelations growing shorter, and the pacing picking up in speed. Isabella was replying to Eliza before Carlisle had even finished his question. "It's more than that… what would he be doing with wolf shifters, and Children of the Moon?"

Eliza picked up the dangling question, as soon as her mother stopped talking "Where would he get them? I thought the Volturi had hunted the Children of the Moon to extinction way before our time."

Isabella looked pensive as she took that in, responding before the room could absorb the question. "I thought so too. Though I suppose it's always possible that some slipped through the cracks. What if one managed to keep itself from spreading the plague? Then found a place to stay safely tucked away, perhaps in a remote corner of the world. It could've existed without drawing attention to itself for centuries. That leaves the wolf shifters, how did he find them? As far as I know the Quileute are the only wolf shifters in the world."

Again Eliza continued the thought immediately after Isabella finished. "We know there are a handful of jaguar shifters in both Africa and South America. We have scattered reports of other animal shifters in Asia and Australia so that's not beyond the realm of possibility either. You're right this is the only territory I'm aware of that has verifiable wolf shifters. I haven't heard of a pack being based anywhere else. So if they aren't from here, where did he find so many? I have a hard time believing that our intelligence is that lacking."

There was a momentary pause as Isabella hesitated midstride, a sudden connection to something Jacob had said suddenly made sense. She spun to fixed Jake with curious stare. "You said the wolves you killed tonight smelled different?" He was caught off guard by the abrupt shift and the out of the blue question, so it took him a moment to nod.

Isabella's follow up question was immediate. She took a step forward, her hand swung up and she extended one dangerous looking finger in his direction for emphasis. He raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was interrogating him, or threatening him. "This is going to sound weird… but could the smell have been artificial?"

Jacob looked puzzled as he turned that thought over in his head. After a long moment he slowly began nodding. A nod that became more sure as he considered it. "That's.. actually the perfect way to describe it. They didn't smell natural."

Eliza looked at her mother in shock, "You don't think…?"

Isabella turned to face Eliza "Yeah… I do. Somehow he's figured out a way to induce it. To replicate the effect of a shifter." Her tone betrayed her own pure shock at the thought. "But… why would he do that?"

"Because he could?" Eliza replied immediately, her voice was speculative, "Werewolves and shifters are pretty much the only beings on the planet that have evolved specifically to be the natural enemies of vampires."

Isabella nodded, then resumed her pacing, though the quickness of her strides had hastened somewhat. "I'm not sure what he'd need fake wolves for, well except for the obvious. After the trouble they gave me in the sewers I could see how they would be appealing as hired muscle against other vampires."

Eliza continued the thought "Which brings us to the Denali… why them? What would he gain by exterminating them? As far as I know they pretty much keep to themselves. Unless, of course, he had some sort of specific grudge against them…" She trailed off, glancing doubtfully at the Denali.

Tanya started to shake her head, but Isabella started to speak before she, or any of the Denali, could respond. "They weren't just after the Denali, they were after the Cullens too. Or at least from what Bree overheard, they had planned to. That is if we hadn't taken them out in Seattle. Only why would he go after both covens?"

Eliza frowned, "We… know they have their diet in common, and they were really specific about killing the yellow eyes…" She slowly shook her head, doubt filling her voice, "But I don't see how their diet would be something he'd find particularly offensive or threatening."

"You're right… I don't imagine that he would." Isabella stopped mid-pace, again, and lifted her head slowly meeting Eliza's eyes "You stay more up to date on some of the politics than I do. Who would you say are the most powerful covens in the world?"

Eliza's eyes rolled upward as she started to rattle off places as if reading from a list, "After us, I'd say the Tokyo Coven, St. Petersburg, Chicago, Mexico City, Recife, Cairo, and Montreal. We're kind of unsure of the status of the Hong Kong and Taipei covens. They tend to clash so much that it seems to change on a monthly basis. But those are probably the current top ten.

Isabella nodded slowly "So why would why would they bother attacking these smaller covens? It almost doesn't serve a point."

Eliza looked up to meet her mother's eyes. "It's possible he's just using the attacks as a convenient way to kill off experiments… but what if it's more like he's playing an elaborate game of Chess?" Isabella tilted her head curiously at Eliza's statement, wordlessly inviting her to continue.

Jasper looking between them gasped, then Eliza shook her head solemnly. "What if he's just clearing the board?"

Isabella frowned and considered that, "Clearing the board… What do you mean?"

"You take out your opponents first before they can mount a defense. I mean, our covens have been connected for a long time, and together we would match one of those bigger covens." Jasper sounded disgusted, and his expression confirmed it. The rest of the room began to whisper in hushed tones, using vampire speech to keep their conversations private.

Eliza frowned and narrowed her eyes speculatively. "Jasper's got a point. I think Joham wants as many pieces off the board as possible so he can have a clean slate for whatever he's planning. The troubles, here, on the east coast, in the south. I'm willing to bet they're happening in Africa and Asia too. But you know how hard disturbances and deaths are to track in Africa, and how closed down the media is in Asia. We've only been sent there twice when things got _really _out of hand."

Isabella nodded slowly at the unfortunate feeling of tumblers clicking into place, as if Eliza's hypothesis was the key to a complex lock. "We don't know what his motivations are. I'm not saying you're right…but.. I think… we ought to get the word out to all the covens we can. See if the Volturi Council can collate information for us." Isabella looked distracted while she considered the idea.

Eliza looked over at Carlisle, after a sheepish glance at her Mother, "Do you have a phone we could borrow?"

Isabella caught the glance and raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Left it in your pocket during the fight again didn't you?"

Eliza sighed and nodded in embarrassment. She hadn't wanted to admit that her phone got shattered in the fight. This would make the 18th phone that she'd broken in a fight.

Alice stepped forward and tossed her phone lightly to Eliza with a little bit of a nod. Eliza didn't hesitate and punched in the numbers "Hey, this is Eliza, I need to speak to Aro, immediately… Okay then let me talk to Marcus or Caius" Eliza spoke with authority, her voice conveyed her impatience and the severity of her urgency.

She was put on hold for nearly a minute before Eliza brightened, "Hey Uncle C!" She said with a happy smile, completely counter to her previous dour expression. Then she turned and stepped out of the room onto the deck overlooking the river and the thick forest that brushed up against that side of the house. Several of the vampires around the room looked a bit appalled at her completely informal address to one of the most powerful vampire leaders in the world.

For once Isabella paid no attention. While Eliza spoke quickly to Cauis with a renewed sense of urgency; Isabella had returned to pacing, the knuckles of her fist resting against her lips and a frown of deep concentration twisted her face into a frightful scowl.

Eliza returned a few minutes later, and tossed the phone back to Alice "Caius flipped the fuck out when I told him about the Children of the Moon. So Aro had to take over, I think he must've just gotten off another call with Demetri though, because he sounded a bit upset when he took the phone."

"Why?" Carlisle asked.

"Uh... Demetri had just reported the complete destruction of the Mexico City coven. No known survivors. So this is as big as I thought. He also agreed that we would start contacting the other covens immediately, and actually volunteered to follow through with that." She sounded a little surprised, and in truth the fact that Aro volunteered to do anything worried her to no end.

"Wow, I'd hoped it was... that news gives your theory some credence. Though I'm still not sure what the purpose is." Isabella let out a frustrated sigh as she began to pace again, then started to talk to herself as if there was no one else there "What's your game Joham? What're you after?"

"I think we need to figure out why his interests seem to have shifted from hybrids to full vampires." Eliza said with a frown, she leaned her hip against the couch while she regarded her mother thoughtfully.

"Excuse me," Carlisle spoke up louder this time stepping forward slightly to get their attention. "You say this Joham experimented on hybrids. Hybrids of what exactly?"

Isabella didn't stop her pacing, she didn't even glance over at Carlisle as she replied absently "A vampire hybrid. A half vampire, half human."

"That's… not possible." Carlisle said, glancing back and forth between Eliza and Isabella.

"I assure you it is." Eliza said with a raised eyebrow and a level voice.

It was Eleazar that came around to stand beside Carlisle and was shaking his head, "I don't think so. It's not possible to partially convert someone. I know that Marcus tried several times to see if he could halt the conversion process once it was started, all his attempts failed though. So I don't think it's something that can be done."

"It's got nothing to do with interrupting a conversion process. Joham figured out how to make a hybrid." Eliza replied, her tone getting somewhat edgy.

Carlisle let out a visible sigh, his tone filled with respectful doubt "I'm sorry I just don't see how it's possible that something could be half vampire, half human."

Isabella stopped her pacing to look up at Carlisle with an irritated glare, then sighed with the same impatient irritation. Yet when she spoke her tone was soft and surprisingly kind. "That's because I doubt it would occur to you. You're curious and intelligent and probably one of the top doctors in the world. But you're far too compassionate and ethical too even contemplate some of the atrocities that Joham's committed in the name of science. Joham is under no moral or legal restriction. To give you an example, he makes Josef Mengele look positively benevolent. He is a real life psychopathic mad scientist, complete with delusions of godhood." She paused thoughtfully for a second, before finally delivering the explanation that was eluding Carlisle. "He has discovered that vampire males can impregnate human females."

The silence that fell over the room was absolute, as if Isabella had told them that the world was ending the next day. Utter shock painted every vampire's face with a different expression. Some held rage, others terror, a couple pain or pity. The wolves were all surprisingly calm, which only added to the feeling of disquiet that the news brought to the room.

"He… what?" Carlisle finally said in total befuddlement, his eyes wide with shock. "I… a… what? A vampire and a human?" Eleazar who stood right beside him had the same astounded expression.

"A hybrid is the product of a union between a vampire male and a human female. As you're well aware, a female vampire's body cannot adapt to allow the changes necessary for a pregnancy. Which Joham deduced was why vampire reproduction was believed to be impossible. It turns out that vampire males still have the capacity to pass on viable genetic material to a human egg, and a human female body can obviously support those changes that a vampire cannot." Isabella said, her voice cold, clinical, and dispassionate.

Carlisle looked like his brain was struggling to catch up with the sudden shock. His voice came out in a strained tone, "I don't see how that's… physically possible. Vampires and humans shouldn't be compatible, we have a different numbers of chromosomes. Then there's the instinctual side of things, that kind of intimacy would be like a lion and a mouse trying to mate."

Isabella's reply was still detached, and deadly serious. "I assure you, it's quite possible. What's conceived is neither vampire nor human, but a blending of the two. The hybrid grows inside the mother at a pace that is far faster than a normal human baby."

"The first problem lies in the fact that the hybrid child needs a lot of blood to help it's accelerated growth. If a supply of blood isn't given to the mother, the fetus feeds on her since she's the only available source. Secondly, the human body is simply not designed for a hybrid pregnancy, a simple kick can be fatal, since the unborn child can easily break bones because it has the strength of a vampire." Isabella continued, and every eye in the room was on her.

"Once the child is big enough, or the mother dies of exsanguination or injury; the hybrid will claw its way out of the womb in order to survive." Isabella shuddered a little bit and looked away.

It was Irina that spoke up first, her shoulders trembling and her voice a mess of chaotic emotions; horror, fear, and total sadness. "Immortal Children."

Isabella was quick to shake her head in disagreement, "No, not Immortal Children. They're hybrids. They have heartbeats, they age to maturity, they grow up, they learn… if they're given the chance."

"That's… that's... he's a monster, he's creating abominations!" Tanya said, clutching her hand over her mouth, looking as if she might be ill. Her eyes were wild, frightened, and above all angry.

Isabella caught Eliza's slight flinch, though with her back to most of the room, no one else caught it. She also heard a very soft growl coming from Leah, who was scowling at Tanya who seemed oblivious due to her mounting rage. Isabella affixed Tanya with a dangerous glare. Her voice was deceptively soft, hiding her own fury over Tanya's willful ignorance. "How do you figure that?"

Tanya stared at Isabella, as if she couldn't understand why it was even a point of contention. "Half vampire, half human? It's grotesque, it's an abomination of life. Impregnating human females? They kill their own mother!"

Isabella's voice was flat, "You've never killed a human in your life? Ever?"

Tanya was starting to lose control over her emotions, her voice began to take on the grating tone of a banshee screech. Her anger trumping any reason, she strode forward several steps aggressively towards Isabella. "That's different, and you know it! For once I absolutely agree with the Volturi. They should all be destroyed and their creator most of all! There's no comparison between us and those perversions of nature!" She spit out the last of her tirade as if she was uttering the most vile of curses.

Isabella was nodding while Tanya ranted, and replied the moment she paused. "You're right. We make a choice to kill when there are other options. We are rational beings, they're babies who's only thought is of survival."

Tanya's voice got so loud and full of emotion, she could barely be understood. "How can you stand there and defend it? My... our mother was killed for creating an Immortal Child. This atrocity of life is so much worse. These... these... monsters have no place in our world!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback by the sheer vehemence and vitriol in Tanya's voice. Isabella was prepared to retort when Eliza shook her head slightly and brought her up short.

Eliza briefly met her mother's eyes, and Isabella could see the extreme hurt she was in, she could also feel the waves of pain and rejection coming through their connection. When Eliza spoke though, her voice was piercing and absolutely glacial. "We should have let you fucking die, you ignorant bitch."

She didn't bother looking at anyone as she walked up the stairs clearly headed back toward Carlisle's office, her head lifted with pride.

There was utter silence in the room. Isabella's fist was starting to shake, her gaze fixated on Tanya's face. Tanya was stunned, and so confused that her anger had entirely abated. She had no clue how close to death she was in that moment. It was a pack member of all things that saved her. Isabella's attention was distracted by the rapidly increasing growl that was emanating from Leah's throat.

Isabella reacted instantly as she took in Leah's shaking form, shouting at Jacob with an urgency that couldn't be mistaken as anything other than a demand. "Jacob! Get her the hell out of here! Now!"

"Shit." Jacob said slowly, but had started to move the instant his name was mentioned. He grabbed Leah by the neck and shoulders, half picking her up, half throwing her toward the door. Isabella beat him there and jerked open the door in time for Jacob to drag Leah through it. Jacob managed to throw her over the porch and into the yard as Leah let out a snarl of rage. Her clothes burst into tatters as she transformed before she'd even hit the ground. Jacob followed a second later, as he split his jean shorts, shifting into his own wolf form.

Leah's small grey body was lithe and tense as she circled around Jacob's much larger russet form. She snarled again, a low growl purring deep in her chest. She snapped at her old friend once in warning, and he stood tall in an attempt to sway her with his authority. The growl deepened even more and she charged, a blur of grey slamming into Jacob's hulking body. He had braced for the impact, but they still tumbled into the forest beyond the yard in a whirl of teeth and claws.

Isabella sighed and looked at Tekali. "Extra clothes?"

Tekali rolled her eyes and glanced at one of the other pack members who was eagerly watching the two wolves brutal fight. Then she turned to the young pack member who she recognized as Kyle, one of many she had met the other evening. Kyle couldn't tear his eyes away from the battle though, so he merely held up a bulging backpack.

Tekali managed a wry smile, "Figured visiting a home with a bunch of vampires, we'd need some extras."

"What the hell is going on?" Tanya demanded loudly.

Isabella had managed a wry smile at Tekali's preparedness, before turning to face Tanya head on. "Which part? The part where you just called my daughter an abomination? The part where I'm restraining myself from ripping you in two where you stand? Or the part where Jacob's also keeping Leah from ripping you apart?" Isabella's voice was dead calm, but anyone could hear the fury behind it. She didn't feel the need to add that Jacob was letting Leah vent her fury, and wasn't in any danger from her, the viciousness of the fight already toning down , though from the vampire's perspective it seemed like Jacob and Leah were still going at it.

"Y... you said that hybrid's have heartbeats. She's didn't." Tanya countered defensively, uncowed by the implied threats behind Isabella's words.

"Eliza is a vampire now, but wasn't always." Isabella replied.

"And you said hybrid's kill their mothers." Tanya continued.

"They do. She did. Eliza is special though." Isabella replied.

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Eliza walked up the stairs, her head held high. When she was out of view she headed towards Carlisle's office her shoulders slumping. It wasn't often she let things get to her. But the comments down there, calling her a freak and abomination; hurt her more than she expected.

There was a reason Eliza wasn't social around other vampires; even among the Volturi. It wasn't because she didn't like to have people around. When given the chance, she love to be social. She genuinely enjoyed being in the company of others, but around her own kind there was always too much judgment. Most outsiders wouldn't associate with either of them because they were Volturi, and other members of the Voltrui tended to avoid them as if they were freaks.

Isabella's reputation had been cemented early on after a series of nearly rabid attacks on several Volturi guards during the time between her arrival and the start of her formal training. Then, after Isabella bonded with Eliza, they were both basically ostracized. Isabella didn't seem to care. She hardly noticed how the other coven members, and various guards, treated her unless they had joined her in one of the training rooms. Eliza did notice that they were a part of the whole but really separate, though it didn't usually bother her. However, being condemned so violently and with so much hate, felt oddly different.

The chance to go to school, the chance to make friends, made Eliza happier than she ever imagined she could be. Leah was a whole other matter that was confusing, and amazing, and Eliza was _really _enjoying time with her. She had always accepted the fact that she was different, but this blatant and ignorant rejection struck a nerve she didn't realize was sensitive. Eliza had just started to turn over these new feelings in her mind, when she heard her Mom shout at Jacob followed by a few thuds which moved quickly outside. Those sounds were then replaced by growls and the distinct sound of two wolves fighting. She smiled inwardly at Leah coming so quickly to her defense.

A part of her wanted to go down and check on things, but decided it was probably better to let things cool down first. If the situation really got out of hand, she knew her mom would tell her. Well... that or she'd start racking up a massive body count, but that was a warning in and of itself because Eliza would feel it if Isabella got _that_ angry.

Eliza headed back into Carlisle's office. Esme was kneeling down next to the girl, lightly stroking her hair. Bree looked up when Eliza walked in, a blood bag held to her lips with very shaky hands. Eliza scanned the girl's body to check if anything had changed, and noticed the blood wasn't having as much of an effect as before. She moved forward and crouched down beside Esme, who shifted over a bit to give Eliza more room, then she gave Bree as bright a smile as she could, even though her concern could clearly be seen in her eyes. "How're you doing hun?"

Bree smiled a little bit between spasms, "I'm okay, w..where d..did your m..mom go?" Her voice sounded like she had been dunked into a bath of ice cold water.

"She's downstairs talking to Carlisle, She'll probably be back to check on you in a few minutes." Eliza said reassuringly.

"Does he k..know what's w..wrong with me?" Bree asked quietly, trying to control the fear in her voice. She took another moment to finish up the bag of blood as she trembled, before dropping it into the trash next the couch. Eliza noticed that she'd already gone through most of their emergency supply already.

Eliza shook her head a little bit. "Not yet, but I'm sure they'll figure it out." She kept her voice gentle and attempted to reassure her again. Eliza noticed that the lines on Bree's face were even darker than before, and with each passing second they seemed to be deepening in color.

Bree managed a small smile, at the expression that Eliza couldn't quite hide on her face, "How do I look?"

Eliza bit her lip gently a moment before replying with a small smile. "Moderately horrible." She ignored Esme's reproving look as she met Bree's eyes.

A shudder of pain went through Bree's body before she managed to flash a very small smile back at Eliza, "Only moderately?" When Eliza smirked slightly Bree smiled a little wider. "That's what I thought."

Eliza couldn't help but be impressed by the girl's sense of humor while she was laying there hurting and wracked by pain. Eliza's heart went out to the girl, and she wished there was something more that she could do for her.

Without warning, Bree's whole body seized again lightly, and a shudder ran through her causing her grunt softly from the shock at the intensity of the pain. When the wave of pain ended, and she looked up at Eliza. In a small voice she asked. "It's bad isn't it?"

Eliza hesitated a moment, and knew this wasn't the same kind of answer she'd wanted a few moments earlier. She didn't want to freak Bree out, but she didn't want to lie to her either, she'd been through enough lies to last a lifetime. Eliza started to reach out to place a hand on Bree's shoulder, when the skin on her neck and cheeks began to turn black. "Yeah... it's bad."

"I... don't want to die." The girl said, in a voice so plaintive that it made Eliza's heart weep. She seemed to be struggling to hold on to consciousness as another violent seizure shook her entire body.

"You won't sweetheart. We'll figure out something. I promise." Eliza told her, which caused Bree to attempt a smile, but she couldn't hold onto it since her body wouldn't stop shaking. After a moment it was clear that the constant trembling was a sign that she was heading into the final stages before death.

Esme glanced at Eliza with a helpless look, whispering so that Bree couldn't hear. "She doesn't have long I think." Eliza looked at her impassively, but inside she felt like screaming.

_**"Mother, she's getting worse. She's shaking non-stop! The skin on her arms and legs is beginning to turn black. We have to do something!" **_Eliza's called to her mother's mind desperately grasping for an answer, any answer.

_**"Try giving her some more blood, see if we can slow down the process at all." **_Isabella's said sounding a bit distracted. Her attention was then diverted back to whatever situation she was wrapped up in.

_**"I've tried, we're down to only two more packs and it's done nothing. She's barely conscious at this point. What can I do?"**_ Eliza's replied shakily.

Once more Esme gave her a worried look, but Eliza ignored it. A great anger welled up deep inside Eliza; the helpless rage was focused on the girl, but there was more to it. It was all about Joham's, and his retched crimes, this tangible connection to her past pressed in on Eliza, which made her even more determined to find him and put him in the worst hell she could imagine. The girl hadn't done anything to deserve this fate, she was nothing more than a runaway turned into another of Joham's twisted experiments. Bree never had a chance. She reined in her anger as she connected to her mother again. Their thoughts running together. Her mother was puzzling over Joham's actions as she tried to figure out what he had done to the girl.

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"It looks like they're done." Tekali said, watching the two wolves began to separate.

When neither renewed the attack, Tekali said calmly, "Kyle go take them some clothing." Kyle slipped out the door and hopped over the porch ledge. The two wolves glanced at the house and then retreated further into the forest so that they would be concealed enough to shift and change.

_**"Mother, she's getting worse. She's shaking non-stop! The skin on her arms and legs is beginning to turn black. We have to do something!" **_Eliza's called, desperately begging for an answer..

_**"Try giving her some more blood, see if we can slow down the process at all." **_Isabella's was still distracted by Tanya, even though she didn't want to be.

_**"I've tried, we're down to only two more packs and it's done nothing. She's barely conscious at this point. What can I do?"**_ Eliza's replied shakily. This got her attention.

Isabella knew her daughter felt a kinship with this girl, someone who was another victim of Joham's experiments, she could hear the emotion in her daughter's tone. Isabella began to pace rapidly back and forth along the floor. Oblivious of Tanya's continued presence. Then she saw Jacob and Leah return through the door in her periphery. Leah came in looking calmer, but she still had a bit of a scowl on her face, which deepened when she looked at the vampires again, but she managed to control herself.

Isabella paused her pacing just a moment and took a small steadying breath. Panicking had never done her any good. She began to pace again, talking out her thoughts to herself. "What did you do to this girl you son of a bitch? What did you put in her?"

"Why the switch from hybrids to vampires? What made you change?" Isabella shook her head quickly discarding that line of thought, realizing that the why of it didn't matter at all. She changed tacks. "No, that doesn't matter. What did you put in her?"

Carlisle started to interject, "It doesn't-" but he was cut off by a quick growl from Isabella who didn't even break stride as she paced. No one else made a move to speak, they were all a bit afraid of her literally biting their heads off.

"He spent years mixing chemicals with vampire venom and injecting them into hybrids. We know that. But why would he do that to vampires?" Isabella frowned, resting the knuckle of her index finger against her lips, her fist closed as she continued to pace, keeping up a conversation with herself.

"That couldn't be what he injected into her. We know what happens when vampire venom ends up in another vampire's body. It hurts like hell but then the body breaks it down." Isabella continued to stride back and forth across the floor. "And he was doing all the tests to find out what effects venom has in hybrids. So it makes no sense that he'd inject venom into vampires. He knows what the effect is…"

Her eyes widened in realization "Hybrid venom. That's what he's using! After years of failures he must've reversed the experiment. Hybrid venom, probably mixed with shit I can't imagine, in newly changed unwitting vampires."

"But what does he get from this?" Isabella stomped her foot in frustration, the wood floor beneath her cracking slightly, although she didn't even acknowledge the damage from her outburst, her stride barely stuttered from the change in step. "What in the hell is hoping to achieve?"

Isabella was walking toward the back door when she suddenly stopped. Her gaze transfixed on her own reflection caught in the slightly mirrored glass. She stood stock still as a cascade of connections fell down into an understanding that exploded in her mind.

"He's trying to use hybrid venom to change a vampire." Isabella felt the click of understanding from her daughter too.

"Do what to a vampire?" Carlisle's voice echoed from over her shoulder. This time his question was a relevant one. Isabella slowed to a stop as a terrible suspicion began to form in her mind.

"I'm not sure what… his goal is…." Suddenly she understood what he was trying to do. The revelation caused a surge of emotion from her daughter. It took her a half second to realize it was forcing Eliza to come to a decision of some sort. The substance of that choice drifted through their connection a half second too late, as Isabella felt her daughter begin to move.

_**"Eliza! NO!"**_ she shouted with as much force as she could through the mental link, and in real life as she started to blur toward the stairs. She'd made it only two steps when she felt an explosion of pain in her neck.

The last thing she remembered as blackness quickly closed in, was a scream from upstairs. Her legs giving out as she hurtled toward the stairs. Then she felt Alice's arms beneath her shoulders, catching her as she fell. Alice's black hair framed her pale face as she appeared above her, looking down with obvious panic written all over her features. The last thing that crossed her mind before the black took over was that that expression didn't belong on her angel face.

She managed to mumble as she succumbed to blackness, "She's _**so**_ grounded."

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**Author's notes**

**1) Woohooo chapter! It's a long one O_O**

**2) I am astounded by the amount of people that PM'd me (and some that put in their reviews) asking me not to kill Bree. Apparently alot of people feel bad for the poor girl. All I can say is, I read it and am fairly certain what I want to do with her.**

**3) Thank you to DarkBella for her wonderful story guidance and ideas. Hopefully they're really shining through. **

**4) Thank you to Samantha Minuet for her amazing prose and all her hard work in editing and such. This chapter started out with about half as many words as it has now. We're kind of a dangerous combination together. We kind of prod each other along in this whole endeavor, and very rarely do we seem to shorten things. **

**5) Sharp Eye'd Shoutouts go to Gnurd for recognizing that I was using a Word's With Friends board rather than a scrabble board. Gnurd and StrugglingHero both recognized that the chess move I described doesn't work. Both of these events happened in previous chapters. **

**6) Please remember that Eliza and Isabella are not "normal" vampires, there are some physiological differences that we have yet to explore. **

**7) I am REALLY proud of this chapter. alot of exposition but hopefully done in a way that keeps everyone interested. There is not much Alice in this chapter and for that I'm sorry. but she'll not be in the background long! **

**8) I have talked to one person about Japanese culture I wouldn't mind another opinion or two to go over some questions I have since my understanding of the culture is non-existent. (And understanding the culture does not mean you watch alot of anime :P ) **

**9) We passed 500 reviews in under a month O_O That's freaking AWESOME. Thank you ALL for reading and reviewing. Please please continue to read and review. It helps us so damn much. **

**Next Chapter: Memories**


	30. Memories

**"This chapter contains scenes depicting violence of a graphic and unpleasant nature most of which involves an abusive situation. Given the nature of this material, reader discretion is advised. If you wish, you can skip to the next chapter without missing anything absolutely vital to the story."**

**Chapter 30 **

She heard echoed screams coming from down the hall. Her bedroom door stood like a sentinel, that kept the horrible voices from reaching out and grabbing her. She was curled up under her blankets with her favorite stuffed animal, a mangy sandy colored wolf named Arnold. She couldn't help but peek out from under the blankets at the door and the light shining in from beneath it.

Her parents fought like this all the time, or sometimes it felt that way. She squeezed her wolf tighter. "It's okay Arnold. Everything will be okay." She whispered, trying to reassure him. She didn't understand that it was really herself she was trying to console.

Then she heard her mother scream some word she didn't understand. There was a large crash, of what sounded like a dish breaking, followed by a masculine bellow of rage, and a much smaller scream from her mother. She heard the sound of something hitting the wall with a heavy yet dull thud, then her mother cried hoarsely in a way that even a four year old could tell was begging. "No, no!"

After a long moment of silence, she heard a strange thump, immediately followed by several more that slowly changed into a wet squelching sound she didn't understand. Then it was quiet, no more yelling, no more weird banging, nothing. The quiet made her even more frightened for some reason. It stayed that way for several long minutes before anything happened.

The commotion that followed was even stranger than the thumping, there was grunting and whispered mutterings that sounded like daddy's bad words, something being dragged into the bathroom, the shower curtain being moved around a lot, then more dragging. After another long silence there was more grunting and dragging, that moved towards the front of the house. Finally the front door opened and slammed shut, although the time between it being opened and shut took way longer than usual.

She wanted to go out of her room and make sure everything was okay. But she had learned her lesson the one time she had tried to venture out and found her crying mother. Her mother slapped her across the face, a fiercely angry expression on her face, then screamed at her to get back to her room. She ran back terrified, and once inside her bedroom she huddled up under her covers and didn't to leave again until morning. That was the first and last time she ever acted on her curiosity.

She told Arnold, "It's a good thing when the door slams, mostly. Because that means that the fighting is over."

She woke up still curled around her wolf, she rubbed her eyes because it was still dark. She stood on her bed and peaked out the window to see that the sun hadn't risen yet. She hopped down and tiptoed tentatively to the door, pressing her ear against it to make sure her dad wasn't up. But she couldn't hear anything coming from the other side of the door. She slowly ventured out of her room, only to find her dad was already awake and busy.

After the night before she didn't want startle him, and she made sure to leave Arnold on her bed where he'd be safe. She was confused because everything looked clean, the dull white paint on the walls no longer had scuff marks, and the kitchen was gleaming. Then she realized most of the stuff in the living room and kitchen was gone too, and her dad was carrying a box of stuff from his bedroom to his truck.

He didn't even spare her a glance as he made a few more trips in and out of the house. She knew better than to bother him when he was busy like this, so she made a piece of bread with peanut butter for breakfast. She wasn't allowed to use the toaster or she got paddled.

She had barely finished her meager breakfast when her dad grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her out of her chair. "Where are we going daddy?" She asked him plaintively as he walked her out the door and towards the truck.

"Your mother ran away," he practically spat the words out, "We have to leave now."

"When will we come back?" She asked him as she stood next to the truck, while he checked the ties on the ropes. She clearly didn't understand.

"We can't come back." He said harshly.

She turned and tried to dash back into the house. She made it two steps before he had grabbed her arm again and jerked her back, his face contorted with rage. "Don't you _ever_ run from me you ugly little bitch or I'll fucking kill you!" She let out a terrified squeal as he threw her into the crowded cab of the truck, a pile of clothes between her and the passenger side door. Her clothes.

"Arnold!" She cried out tears pouring down her face, "I can't leave him!"

Her dad ignored her as he slid into the driver's seat and started the truck up. When they began to drive away, the girl sobbed piteously and let out a long wail. She didn't want to go with him, she didn't know where her mama was, and she was leaving her only friend behind.

She was cut off by two hard sharp slaps that made her face explode in pain. It made her jaw fall open and she couldn't close it right. "Stop that noise or I'll give you something to cry about!" he snapped viciously at her. The four year old girl stopped crying, even though her face was on fire. That was the moment she learned the that tears got you nothing but pain.

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It had taken her a long time to find any semblance of calm, slaughtering animals and then a whole family before she came down enough to process things normally. Her first sense of self filtered down into her conscious mind and the horror of what she'd done finally sunk in. She crumpled to the forest floor right where she stopped and wept without tears.

After an immeasurable length of time, something broke through her private living nightmare and the emotions that were strangling her released her from their iron grip. A oddly bright thought blossomed in her dark anger riddled mind, she was free... then the darkness snuffed out that brightness as if it never existed. Those last words she'd heard. The ones that haunted her. Her father, her friends were in danger. She started running even before the thought had finished in her mind. She ran until she found a road, then followed it she reached the first marker. That lead her to another, and another, until she finally came upon something approaching civilization. She had been buried deep deep in the Canadian forest. Once she realized which way to go, she ran for home.

The run was exhilarating, even more so than when _he_ carried her. She pushed that thought away and focused on the moment. Less than three hours later she crossed into Forks proper. Less than a minute later she was at her house. Her pace slowed, but didn't stop as she ran up to the back door without hesitation. The basic lock snapped with a simple tug as she threw open the door and entered the house. "Charlie!... Dad?" Her voice sounded weird to her, speaking words instead of voiceless screams. Inside she barely recognized the house. It wasn't just that there was no one home. It was empty, barren, devoid of the life she'd hoped to find.

She searched every room, and found the only thing left was the cord Charlie had nailed down to the floor of her room so she could keep in contact with her mother. She finally checked the front yard, somehow still hopeful that his cruiser would be parked outside, but all she could see was a weathered "For Sale" sign sitting in the center of a dead lawn.

She left the same way she entered, ignoring how the door didn't close properly. Next to the tree she swung in as child was something she'd mistaken on her run in for a large rock, the strange object seemed to beckon her, and she found herself walking towards it with a mounting sense of dread.

Someone had carefully engraved words into the oval shaped rock. It was obviously meant to be a gravestone, or some sort of memorial. She couldn't make herself read it until she got within a few feet, then her eyes moved across the surface. Each letter hardened her features as her entire world stopped. She sank down to her knees in front it, lost beyond words and traced the text with one careful finger again and again.

_**Charlie Swan.**_

_**Police Chief, Forks Washington**_

_**Loving Father, Loyal Friend**_

_**He Never Stopped Searching,**_

_**May He Find Her in Another Life**_

Underneath the engraving someone had obviously added their own words. They weren't quite centered and tilted slightly as if someone used a hammer or chisel after the fact.

_**Forever Grieving.**_

She found herself weeping again. For once she was grateful for the pouring rain, it mimicked the tears she could no longer make as the cold droplets rolled down her face. The rain also gave her privacy. No one saw her, or came to talk to her, wondering about a figure crouched in front of a grave stone in the rain.

It was a long time before she once again gathered herself, and with a renewed purpose made a beeline for the town cemetery. This time she didn't cry. But she found names she dreaded.

Phil... Renee... buried side by side. Of course they had never settled down after she left for Forks. Her mother's parents, or maybe Charlie must've decided to bring them back here. Her mother, irresponsible, forever youthful, insanely insightful. Gone.

Eric Yorkie, Ben Cheney, Jessica Stanley, Angela Weber... all gone too.

She scoured the graveyard twice for other names she recognized, but found no-one else. Until she came upon a grave that had been freshly dug. The headstone was already in place, even though the body had yet to be buried. She didn't recognize the name on the tombstone, what she did recognize was the date. Somehow... she'd lost almost ten years buried in that prison. Her mind reeled as she struggled to cope with the enormity of the revelation.

Eleven people dead already because of her. Seven dead as punishment for her own arrogance in trying to rise above her place in the food chain. Four more dead because she was thirsty. She kept cycling through her endless torment, and imagining her friends and family going through a similar hell. Victoria had kept her dreadful promise. She didn't even have to look to know that all of these dead could not have been coincidence. All of these dead because of her.

They were all taken from her while she was trapped in the ground for ten years. A feeling of helplessness washed through her, it felt so profound that her entire sense of self was shattered. That helplessness folded in on itself in to something horrible, something beyond hatred or anger. This new feeling took the breath from her dead lungs, and burned behind her eyes like the fires of Hell.

She sank to the ground. She had nowhere to go. No one to turn to, except this monstrous inhuman fury.

The blackness of this new fury made her still, burning away all her sympathy and heartache, leaving only guilt and rage. Until finally a strange clarity came to her, bringing with it an idea, a memory. Something _he_ had mentioned once. A sharp hatred rose up at the very recollection of him this time. But she recalled that conversation he'd deemed to share with her about his fake father and the time he spent in Volterra, with the Volturi. The rulers of the vampire world, the only place vampires could go to die if they wished.

In her darkness, rage, and guilt... The final release of death was all that was all she wished.

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Her broken jaw was only the first of many injuries that followed. Her right arm was still tender when she woke up with a start from the unmistakable sound of the front door slamming. A sound that echoed in her nightmares practically every night. The door had been slammed so hard that the house shook slightly. She looked up from the couch in horror at the clock. She had fallen asleep in front of the TV and he was home. She stood up to run to her bedroom before he could see her, but her ten year old legs faltered and she tripped over her own feet, falling face first towards the hard tiled floor. Instinctively she threw out her arms to stop her fall, and a body shaking jolt of pain shot up her injured arm.

She started to scramble to her feet but his hand closed on her already sore arm and yanked her up. Her shoulder dislocated again with a dull pop as he spun her around to face him. "You thought you could stay up because I wasn't home?!" He half screamed, half slurred only inches from her face. She could smell the distinct scent of beer, cigarettes, and scotch on his breath. She'd learned that the different types of booze he drank had slightly different effects on his mood, this combination was the almost the worst.

"No, daddy I just fell asleep on the couch watching cartoons, I'm sorry!" She pleaded, but it didn't matter. She flinched before his hand even started to swing. The slap across her cheek tickled the place where her jaw had been broken, and not in a good way.

"Need to teach you a lesson just like your mother!" He snarled at her. He reached down and fumbled with the belt with his free hand, in awkward jerks he pulled it from around his waist. She wasn't sure what he was going to do but she didn't like the ugly look on his face.

He spent several seconds trying to fold the belt into a loop, before finally giving up and just folding it in half. Then he dragged her over to the couch and bent her over onto the cushions. He pulled her pajama bottoms down and then the first welt flared across her exposed skin. The resulting explosion of pain was something she knew well, but could never quite get used to. She couldn't hold in her shrieks, which only seemed to encourage him to keep going. Again, and again, and again. Involuntary tears welled up in her eyes, so she shut them hard to keep the moisture from falling down her hot cheeks.

After the fifth or fiftieth lash, she wasn't sure, he released her arm and she slid off the couch, trying desperately to reign in her uncontrollable sobs. "Crying!" He paused to snort a hard laugh. "Reminds me of your mother, you're a filthy little whore just like her aren't you? Keep it up and I'll really give you something to cry about!" She tried to pull her emotions inside, and wiped the tears from her face with her working forearm, but they still kept falling. He slapped her once to make her stop, but when it caused more tears to come he closed his fist. After the third punch he pulled back, and sighed. "Now get your hideous face out of my sight!" He didn't even bother looking at her as he turned and stumbled into the kitchen. She managed to get to her feet, but she had to hold onto every piece of furniture and wall for support.

Once she was back in her room she tried several times to pop her lose shoulder back in place until it finally did. She had to keep her mouth tightly closed around her silent screams. Then she crawled onto her thin mattress, which was covered in dirty sheets that he had refused to give her the quarters to wash. The miserable excuse for a bed was laying directly on the cold tile floor, which meant she could never seem to get warm in the winter. At nights she would shiver herself to sleep, wishing she still had Arnold to hold onto.

She slid under her meager covers, forced to lay on her stomach. Her bottom was still burning, and a little bloody. She wanted to wash off the blood, but didn't dare leave her room again. She wished she had some place to run to, or somewhere better to hide. She fantasized about running far away from him, but no one would help an ugly little whore like her. Even at school they treated her like the monster she knew she was, hideous and miserable. No wonder no one wanted to be her friend.

She listened with fear for any sort of follow-up, but it was clear after a while that he'd fallen asleep in his easy chair. Eventually she managed to drift into a restless sleep. The last thing she remembered thinking was that she wouldn't be able to go to school the next day since he hit her in the face again. The last time that happened a man came and talked to her dad and asked some questions and then told her dad he'd be back to check on her every week for three months. After the man left she got a paddling so hard that she couldn't sit down for two days. She wondered what the man would say tomorrow.

Her dreams drifted in and out of nightmares, until she found herself in the middle of a vast untouched forest enshrouded in thick shadows. A dark woman was staring at her curiously, her eyes were odd and frightening. She stood stock still like some kind of living statue, until she rushed towards her with a speed that couldn't be real. She flinched ready for the pain she was about to be subjected to, but instead she found herself being lifted into the air with that same unnatural speed. Then the woman let go, and she found herself flying. High above the clouds to places she knew she would never see in real life.

The descent back to the real world was a rough one. The girl ached everywhere, her face and backside the worst it had ever been. Her shoulder throbbed relentlessly, and he was standing over her looking furious. He gathered up the clothes she had folded in a corner of the floor, and then ordered her to follow him. The truck was already idling, and she knew what that meant. They were leaving again. He tossed her stuff in the cab, then practically threw her in after them. Once they were underway he turned and said, "If we have to move one more time because of you, I swear I'll kill you, you ungrateful little bitch."

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They walked through the cold curved corridors of Volterra together. The girl was clutching Isabella's arm like she were precious, as they passed by a seemingly endless series of heavy wooden doors. Felix and Demetri were escorting them, back to their rooms. No one was smiling, because the meeting with the Volturi Council they had just left had become extremely tense.

Less than an hour before, shortly after the three of them arrived in Volterra, Felix gave his report while Isabella and her pseudo-doppelganger stood there awaiting judgment. The girl hadn't let go of Isabella's arm since they'd left the hotel room in Rio and boarded the plane. She had to physically restrain the girl from panicking with the plane had taken off. Since they landed it was almost worse.

Isabella tried to talk to the girl, trying to coax her to say anything. But all she could get was a strange sense of emotions from the girl. She tensed up every time the girl sent a spike of fear or wonder through their bizarre connection, each new person, sight, sound, or scent was like a mini revelation.

Once Felix had finished his report, which was accurate as far as Isabella was concerned, the trio of Volturi royalty stared at them both thoughtfully, each with a slight different expression. Aro looked curious but undecided on what to do. Marcus, looked like he had a cursory interest in proceedings. The girl's circumstances were compelling enough for him to at least lift his attention from the fog he lived in.

Caius took almost no time before reacting, he sneered at the clear abomination in front of him. He glared at Isabella and ordered. "Destroy her."

When neither Aro or Marcus countermanded the order, Felix and Demetri both moved forward. They moved as one in an obvious attempt to restrain Isabella, so that the rest of the guards present could take care of the girl.

The moment they were in reach, Demetri found himself flying backwards, his feet skimming the polished marble floor to the far wall behind him over twenty feet away. Felix wasn't as lucky. He made the mistake of going for the girl instead of Isabella, before he knew what was happening he found himself staring up in shock, somehow imbedded six inches into the stone floor. Isabella's foot pressed into his neck with such strength that the sheer pressure was threatening to separate his head from his body.

Isabella snarled down at him, before looking up at Caius and snarling again. She was oblivious to the looks of astonishment that were directed at her. She only had one thought in her head; protect the girl, no matter the consequences. The room grew noticeably darker as she locked furious gazes with Caius, each silently daring the other to back down.

Neither of them did, It was Aro who had the presence of mind to defuse the situation. He called to Caius, worried that things were about to get very tricky. Astonished at how she'd just manhandled Felix, Aro was beginning to understand the potential prize he had in Isabella, and had to resist the urge to cry in triumph. "Come now, my impetuous brother. This is an interesting opportunity I think, I would say patience is best course of action right now."

He focused his attention on Isabella who was coiled up as tense as a spring. "I would like to see exactly what has occurred here, and I think discretion and further... investigation is in order before we do anything rash. Isabella dear, why don't you take your young charge in hand, get her settled in? She seems rather attached to you. We shall decide what further action, if any, needs to be taken. But not today."

Isabella held his gaze for several seconds, and a brief expression of surprise crossed Aro's face. Isabella had never seemed to care about anything before. The only exceptions were during training, and when he directed her at someone to kill. Her steely glare was warning enough for Aro to realize that the girl was non-negotiable. Realizing that the they were free to go, Isabella turned to take the girl to her quarters. Caius waved a hand and Demetri and Felix, still dusting themselves off, turned to join her.

They stood outside her room door as she led the girl inside. Her quarters were sparse, the walls were empty, and there was nothing resembling decoration of any kind. The furniture was simple, a desk with nothing on it, a dusty chair, an empty bookcase, and a dresser with a small TV on top of it that Isabella wasn't even sure worked anymore, since she'd never had the occasion or interest to use it. There was a two piece bathroom off the main room containing a big shower and a sink. In the large closet there were six copies of the same dark grey outfit she wore, hanging perfectly spaced apart. The empty space surrounding the simple garments continued the theme of the room, lifeless.

Despite the pointless of it, there was a large bed was in one corner. Something Isabella had never seen any reason for. She never understood why all the quarters in Volterra came equipped with a bed, since none of its residents slept. She almost never spent any time in the room. She came to shower, and change, then she went back to the training rooms. Given the amount of reserves and hopefuls the Voltrui had, she was almost never bereft of sparring partners.

She showed the still silent girl around the quarters briefly, taking her into the bathroom to show her the shower. The shower sparked some familiarity in the girl. Isabella had shown her the shower at the hotel they'd had where they found her. Isabella had spent almost three hours coaxing her in and getting her clean. This time the girl seemed almost eager. She began stripping out of her clothing. Isabella gave her an encouraging nod before retreating to the other room.

She'd gotten to the doorway when a small voice stopped in mid-step. The voice was filled with hesitation and questioning. It sent a shiver through Isabella, and sparked something long dead inside of her. The girl's tone was heartbreaking, but there was an unmistakable underlying tone of hope.

"Muh...moth…. Mother?"

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He had never been stupid enough to hit her in the face again. Not that it was any better, she racked up several broken bones and enough bruises to cover her entire body twice over.

Yet even when she thought had suffered through it all, he began to get more violent.

He had been getting worse for months. Since right before her fifteenth birthday. Over the five years since they moved, she had gotten pretty good at avoiding his beatings. Enough that she only had to patch herself up once or twice every couple of weeks. Those final few months however, his outbursts ramped up to two or three times a week. It was like he was looking for ways to punish her. He wouldn't even have to be drunk, merely crossing his path in the house was enough to earn her a shove at the very least.

The straw that broke the camel's back came the night before she decided to run. He had come home drunk again, smelling of Tequila. She was sound asleep, and was awakened when he wrapped his hands around her ankles pulled her out of bed. She realized instantly what was about to happen and did her best to remain limp, because the beatings weren't as bad if she cooperated. This time though, instead of hitting her, he slurred out "Come here…. give Dad a kiss."

She noticed that the Tequila wasn't the only thing he was on, and his eyes were glassy and a bit wide and wild. She braced herself for the first wave of abuse, only to flinch when he tried to kiss her. The flinch was enough to stoke his anger, and in response his hand closed around her neck. He leaned into her as he started to choke her, as he began to scream in her face. "You think you're too good for me? You rotten little whore, just like your mother! I'll teach you!"

Then inexplicably he stood and threw her into a nearby wall before stomping of towards the kitchen. She thought it was only luck, but the soft mutters coming from him frightened her more than anything she had ever heard him say. Except for that night, the night her mother disappeared. She curled back under her covers, and resolved right then and there to leave. She wasn't sure she'd survive another encounter like that. She didn't even want to think about the other possibility.

After he was dead to the world, she grabbed up her book bag and stuffed all her clothes into it. Then she took all the money she had kept from not eating lunch, and everything in father's stash that he kept hidden in his room under his mattress. Those few minutes, sneaking into his room and stealing his money were the most exhilarating and frightening of her life. Then she was away, off to the bus depot at the crack of dawn. She hoped he would sleep until way after she was supposed to be in school.

She bought a ticket to the farthest destination available for the cheapest price, Fairbanks, Alaska. Then she waited nervously for the bus to arrive. She was finally doing it, finally getting away. She was actually eager for the journey for once. She knew it wouldn't be easy, she'd have to find a minimum wage job and work hard, but she was hopeful she could find something no matter how menial.

She looked up when she heard the announcement for her departure. She got on looking forward to the future for the first time. She didn't know what was coming, but she was sure of one thing; no matter what lay ahead for her, it couldn't be worse than what she was leaving behind.

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She was leaping across rooftops, her quarry ahead of her by only a few well placed leaps.

There had been reports of disturbances in London for over three weeks. The Volturi had sent them to take care of the problem. As a team they had racked up quite a body count, mostly newborns but at least two that were far older, at least that's what Eliza thought from the way they dressed. Isabella was confident that they had decimated most of the coven already in the short three days since they arrived.

They had tracked the two vampires on the second night, but lost them in a crowd coming out of a theater. An hour ago they finally caught up with the two rogues. They didn't hestitate to bolted off in opposite directions as soon as they had seen the approaching Volturi. Isabella didn't need to order her daughter to act, she immediately broke up after the one that had gone left, Isabella gave chase to the other one.

Eliza's prey was a fast one, and seemed to know the rooftop terrain very well. Despite being able to move faster, she had to waste time navigating the tricky foot placement and oddly angled rooftops, so she was only making small gains on him. Then she felt a surge of savage satisfaction coming from her mother, and knew that she had caught her vampire and had dispensed with him.

Eliza felt her mother connect to her directly, knowing she was seeing through her eyes just urged her on. She was closing in on the vampire ahead of her, when instead of jumping to the next rooftop he suddenly and unexpectedly jumped to the ground three stories below.

She got to the edge of the roof and saw that he'd ripped a manhole cover off. She caught a glimpse of him disappearing into a sewer below. She didn't hesitate, and leapt down angling her descent so she would fall through the hole directly into the sewer.

Isabella's voice echoed in hers a moment too late, _**"No! Don't!"**_

She ignored the warning, intent on catching her vampire too. She braced for her landing and landed with a splash of stagnant filthy water spraying all over her newly purchased outfit. She knew wearing it was a mistake, she just hadn't considered the possibly of getting coated in poo. She shook off the minor irritation, and listened for her prey. After less than a second she heard the vampire running down an adjacent pipe, and without hesitation launched herself after him.

_**"Eliza, wait for me."**_ Her mom's voice called in her head.

_**"No. I've got this."**_ She sent back to her mother, using one of her mother's favorite phrases. She plowed on ahead, getting closer to the fleeing vampire. He pushed his legs to move faster. Then he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Volturiiiii" fear quaking his voice causing him to sound strangled and desperate.

He made several abrupt turns, using the twisty nature of their surroundings to keep a few meters ahead of her. Then he went through a doorway opening up into a much large space. Eliza smiled, she could easily close the gap in there. The room was a convergence of several pipes, but for some reason the other pathways were all blocked off by grates. He had trapped himself, and she smiled even wider knowing he's have to stop and rip off one of those grate to get away.

He stopped in the center of the space, and turned towards her with a look of defeat on his face. She slowed down from a run to a deliberately paced stride, using her posture to threaten the trapped vampire. She was determined that her first enforcement kill be done with style. Then as soon as she crossed the threshold his expression shifted into a sadistic smile. Instantly she knew something was wrong.

Without warning she felt pain explode of across the back of her head, the attack had come from behind. She groaned inwardly, she should've realized it was an ambush. She stumbled forward from the impact, but before she could recover, a similar series of equally painful impacts hit on several places all over her body. The first slammed into her shoulder, then the left side of her chest, another at the backs of her knees, and the final one across the small of her back. Together they forced her to the ground, and onto her hands and knees.

It occurred to her that just because they'd found evidence of only two vampires left in the coven didn't mean they weren't masking their numbers. She looked up to see she was surrounded by seven vampires, three of them had a grip on her effectively pinning her in place. It was at that point she knew without a doubt that she was in over her head. She snarled in fury at the feeling of being restrained; twisting and writhing in an attempt to dislodge the grips on her. The feeling drudged up an unpleasant association to her time with Joham, and an itching sensation of panic began to tear down her ability to think rationally.

"Volturi bitch! Gonna take care of you and then go after your partner next." The vampire she'd been chasing, snarled at her as his foot lashed out in a vicious kick to her right cheek. Her head jerked to the side from the impact, the skin on her cheek cracking slightly from the impact

"We don't have time to waste, just kill her." One of the others pressed calmly.

The vampire she'd been chasing hesitated for a moment, clearly wanting to do more to punish his pursuer. Common sense seemed to war with his need for revenge, and he dithered for a few moments before common sense seemed to win out. He raised his fists over his head, interlacing his fingers, clearly intent on bringing them down in one smashing blow that would end her life without further effort. That was as far as he got though.

He had them at the apex of his attack when Isabella arrived with a roar of rage. Two of the vampires pinning Eliza down were flung away from her and into opposite walls. Then with brutal precision she grabbed the arms of vampire threatening her daughter and delivered one devastating kick to his chest, sending him flying back against the farthest wall, though his arms stayed in Isabella's iron grip.

Eliza didn't waste any time acting against the only one still holding her down, she rolled throwing him off of her and continued in one fluid movement back to her feet. The second she was upright her mother was pressing her attack to the three standing around with stunned expressions on their faces. Her own attacks were slightly more tentative as she recovered from being held down.

She barely heard the screams of panic and pain as the two of them decimated the remaining vampires. Her mother took down the lion's share, killing four of them while she took the remaining two. Torso boy was try to roll back to his arms and legs when Eliza caught up with him. Smashing his head in with a satisfying stomp.

Her mother didn't say anything as they surveyed the bodies. She let the silence stretch as long as she could while the two of them set fire to the bodies. It wasn't until they were walking out of the sewers that she finally got tired of the silence.

"Mother... aren't you going to scold me or reprimand me?" She asked, ready for anything.

Her mother tilted her head curiously, "Scold you, why would I do that?"

Her jaw unhinged, "What do you mean 'why would you do that'? I ignored your warning. I chased him into the sewer. I wasn't aware of my surroundings, I was overconfident. I got blindsided by an unexpected group of vampires. They caught me off guard and pinned me. They might have managed to kill me. I was lucky you got there in time. And you're not going to scold me?!"

She wasn't sure which she was more bothered by. The fact that she had let those things happen, or the fact that her mother didn't seem to care enough to reprimand her. Her mother's statement brought her up short, and she put her hand on her hip waiting for a reason that didn't offend her need for parental worry.

"There's no point. You obviously know what you did wrong. Yelling at you will do no good. I thought you were ready to be trusted if the need to split up arose on a mission, as it did tonight. Apparently, I was mistaken. For the immediate future, you are not to split off from me until I'm sure you're able to be responsible for yourself. Charging blindly after someone like a bull at any red flag will get you killed." Isabella's voice was calm, and factual, despite the anger Eliza could feel through their connection.

Eliza felt the sting of the rebuke, she hated the idea that her mother didn't trust her alone anymore, but the brief almost clinical statement of fact was almost worse than any scolding that she could have imagined her mother coming up with.

She hesitated a few more moments before quickstepping up to catch up with her mother who hadn't stopped when she did. "I'm sorry. Thank you for being there for me."

Her mother nodded her head, her voice calm. "Noted." She considered her daughter for a moment, and then she gave Eliza a look devoid of humor, "If you really want to be scolded, how about this. If I lost you I would tear this town apart, I would do my best to rend the world in two to destroy every last vampire. You are the single most important thing in my life." Her smile softened into a bit of a grin. "Now, I think that fulfills my parental obligation to lecture you. I would give you a reassuring hug, but you're covered in sewage."

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She was so cold, even colder than those nights sleeping on that miserable bed on the tile floor. She was curled up in the fetal position next to a dumpster. The dumpster and the wall of the building kept the cold wind off of her partially but it didn't help with the rain. The dirty faded tarp she found helped with the rain to a degree, but did nothing to keep her warm. The cardboard helped a little with the warmth, but nowhere near enough.

She had looked everywhere for a job. Willing to take on any chore or any task if someone had given her half a chance. Only no one wanted to take on a fifteen year old in ragged clothing. No one wanted to hire an ugly homeless street urchin.

Necessity forced her to learn to steal and forage for food. She wasn't proud of it, but she was determined to survive. That resolve was waning though, the bitter cold sapping her will to live. It was December and she hadn't been prepared for the frigid Alaska nights. If she hadn't been so desperate to escape she might have thought about going somewhere warmer.

Unfortunately since the homeless shelter was full she had nowhere else to go. She was close to turning herself into social services, but she was afraid she'd end up in a place with someone like her father, or worse they'd send her back to him. Her fingers and toes were numb, and she had started to shiver uncontrollably. She wondered if she'd make it through the night without freezing to death, or worse losing a hand or foot to frostbite.

"Hey there, are you okay?" a male voice said.

She looked up to see a pale stranger standing above her. He was a very handsome boy, but he had the… strangest dark eyes, the irises looked almost completely black. They reminded her of that dream she had so many years ago. It made her want to trust him, was he going to lift her up and out of this new nightmare? She nodded her head, but her teeth were chattering too much to form any sort of coherent reply.

"You look cold, and hungry. Why don't you let me get you a bite to eat, a burger or something?" He gave her a strange look, which countered the friendly smile plastered to his face. Then he held out a hand to her.

She looked back and forth between the hand and his face several times before reaching out to accept his offer. It struck her as a little weird that her cold fingers couldn't feel any difference in body temperature between them. His hand felt harder than normal, and his grip reminded her of her father's.

He kept the strange discordant smile on his face, as he pulled her to her feet. Then he turned tugged her with him, "Let's go get you that bite."

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**Author's brief note: If you made it through this chapter, please take the time to write a review. before reading the next one. We'd like to know how we did tackling such dark topics and themes.**

**We posted them at the same time so that if you were uncomfortable with the idea of reading such themes you could skip this without feeling obligated to read it. (rather than post them separately, for the max amount of reviews)**

**Thank you. **


	31. Waking Up is Hard to Do

**Chapter 31**

Isabella felt the world return as she began to regain consciousness. She felt severely disoriented, and it took her far too long to become fully aware of her surroundings, using her hearing and sense of smell first. It took her another minute to force the images swirling around her head away . The things she just witnessed made her want to kill. That asshole's thoughtless and selfish acts of brutality brought Isabella's beast caged deeply inside of her far too close to the surface. She had a deep almost irresistible urge to eviscerate the man she'd seen in those memories, teaching him a lesson he wouldn't live through.

Isabella was about to give into that temptation when the oddest of sensations filtered through, a soothing sense of calm wafted through her body and combated her immediate urges. She felt inclined in a weird position, partially reclined with support under the back of her thighs, the small of her back, and her head. Most strangely, there was the feeling of something running through her hair lightly and repeatedly. Most of all, a wonderful and alien sense of reassuring joy seemed to invade her.

Her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring into the beautiful golden eyes of Alice Cullen. It had been so long since she had thought of that color as beautiful. Isabella could see Alice's worried expression quickly give way to a smile of immense relief. At the same time even Alice snatched the hand that had been stroking Isabella's hair away. For just the briefest of moments Isabella found herself smiling in spite of herself. Alice's mouth seemed to be moving to say something but Isabella couldn't quite seem to make it out. It was like everything was moving in slow motion and she had to struggle to keep up.

Then Isabella's mind caught up with reality, and she sat up so fast she ended up toppling awkwardly to the side. Alice had been holding Isabella in her lap, her arm supporting Isabella's head; and they were on a cushioned chair in Carlisle's office. Isabella found her hand catching Alice's shoulder briefly to regain her balance as she took stock of her surroundings. The contact sent a little shock of something through her. It took a few second for Isabella to recognize the conflicted and raw emotions were somewhat soothed by her tenuous connection to Alice.

The first thing she looked for was Eliza. Isabella's eyes came to rest on her daughter's prone form, laying next to someone that she didn't immediately recognize. Isabella examined the stranger for a few moments before realizing it had to be Bree. The girl was on her side and her long dark hair completely obscured her face. Isabella didn't let her eyes linger on her for long, as she scanned the room and continued to catalogue her surroundings. Next to Eliza sat Leah, her legs crossed and her attention totally transfixed on Eliza, concern creasing her brow and pulling her face into a tense scowl.

She noted they weren't alone in the room. Jacob was standing at the door with his arms crossed, and Carlisle and Esme stood closely together watching Isabella curiously. Rosalie stood like a statue against the farthest wall, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Bree. Tanya was also in the room and she was watching Isabella warily. She almost reacted badly to her presence, but Tanya's expression was also twisted with a hopeless regret so she ignored her.

Isabella's perception seemed to catch fully up with her, and finally she heard Alice ask a little frantically, "Are you okay?"

Isabella ran a hand over her face and nodded slowly. "Yeah." Her voice came out rather shaky so she took a breath and tried again, this time she sounded much more sure of herself. "Yeah, I'm fine." She turned her head and gave Alice a brief but reassuring nod before she moved toward her Daughter.

"Be careful Bells." Jacob said quietly, but with a clear tone of warning.

Isabella stopped and gave him a puzzled look. His tone was one of caution rather than one of command which was the only thing that gave Isabella pause. She also wasn't sure she approved of her old nickname, the last time she'd heard it before this evening, her father was alive. Of course Jacob was still her oldest friend, so if anyone had the right to use it he did.

"Neither of them are letting any of us but Leah close. Eliza kicked me, and the other girl sent Carlisle into the wall over there when he got too close. See the hole? I mean it's a big hole." Jacob nodded towards the sizable Carlisle shaped impression in the drywall, then shrugged lightly. He made no attempt to stop Isabella as she moved closer, though.

Isabella moved around Leah and sank down to her knees between Eliza and Bree without the slightest show of hesitation. The two girls on the floor stayed unconscious and seemed completely unaware of her presence. She looked up at Carlisle, "How long was I out?"

Carlisle's eyes flicked to the clock on the wall, "Almost five hours." After a beat of hesitation he decided to expand on his answer, though his voice clearly reflected his puzzlement. "You sort of…blacked out downstairs. You said Eliza's name so we brought you up here. Well… Alice brought you up here. She's the only one that you allowed close to you, you started thrashing anytime any of the rest of us moved within three feet."

Alice looked a little insecure about that detail, but Isabella gave her a quick nod of appreciation. Alice felt almost buoyant, her head was lifted so high with pride. She felt a bit apart from the rest of her family for the first time regarding Isabella, and she couldn't push down how happy it made her. She did hide her smile though, managing to keep a totally straight face.

Isabella's reaction was a bit different. After assuring Alice that she hadn't stepped over any unnecessary boundaries, she turned to the still forms of Eliza and Bree, and began to nod slowly as she glanced back and forth between them. "How long since they broke apart?"

It was Leah that spoke up this time. "Just a few minutes before you woke up." Then she looked over at Isabella with crystal clear anguish in her eyes. She lingered in that unspoken plea for reassurance before she turned back to watch Eliza.

Isabella realized with a start as she took in Leah expression, this was the first time she had seen Eliza even remotely close to unconscious, and since vampires never slept, it must've been a traumatic experience. "She'll probably be just fine in a little bit. Maybe a bit thirsty." Isabella said reassuringly as she glanced up to make sure the cooler that Eliza had brought earlier was still sitting on the desk. Even though Bree had gone through most of it, there had to be at least a couple left.

"What about Bree?" Rosalie asked out of nowhere. Isabella looked at her with a touch of surprise, that was the second time she had shown concern for the girl, it was beginning to make her hatred for the blonde ease up a bit, a very little bit.

"I'm not sure, I hope she'll wake up soon too." Isabella replied and actually managed to give Rosalie a bit of a smile, that made her calm down almost immediately. Her gaze returning to Bree.

"What happened? What did she do?" Alice's voice was full of concern, more than might normally be warranted. Isabella glanced up at Alice, and then over at Jacob with a raised eyebrow.

Jacob shrugged a little bit, "I didn't know how much you wanted them to know so I thought it was better answered by you."

Isabella nodded with a small grateful smile. She glanced up at Alice and nodded a little bit. "Eliza is… different. She was born a hybrid and then became a vampire. I'm the one who turned her. Not on purpose or anything; but when I bit her, she bit me as well." She summarized without going into detail.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the speculative look on Carlisle's face as he thought that new information over. Alice's expression was full of curiosity as she met Isabella's eyes unwaveringly, but she didn't ask further questions, sensing it wasn't the right time.

"So you knew she could safely suck the venom out of the girl?" Carlisle asked finally speaking up again.

Isabella shook her head slowly, "Not exactly. Eliza realized that it was hybrid venom inside of Bree at the same time I did. I think she was trying to duplicate what happened with us. I'm the only vampire she's ever bitten, and that was when she was a hybrid. When we bit each other all those years ago, it changed both of us. I converted her, and she altered me as well… now we're both… something else. I believe she was trying to do the only thing she could think of to save Bree."

Carlisle nodded thoughtfully, and opened his mouth to voice another question when the conversation was stopped short as a sudden growl from Eliza drew everyone's attention. Eliza's eyes snapped open and she started to leap up with a snarl of rage. Isabella's hand slid over Eliza's chest and pressed down with a gentle but consistent pressure. It was just enough to kept her pinned down. Her voice was sharp, and demanded attention.

_**"Eliza. Snap out of it. They were memories."**_ She projected the words both audibly and through their connection to her daughter's frenzied mind, though she kept her daughter's chest pinned down while she thrashed.

Eliza strained for several more seconds before her eyes flicked first to her mother and then to Leah. After a second recognition sunk in, she stopped straining and relaxed back to the floor with a groan. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck." Her voice was hoarse and scratchy, and felt as dry as a bone.

"You took a giant risk." Isabella shook her head and sighed at her daughter. Leah frowned mimicked Isabella's worried exasperation.

"Risk is our business." Eliza groaned out as she started to sit up. "Need… some blood." She had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when a pack of blood landed in her lap. Both Isabella and Leah glanced over to see Alice standing next to the cooler on the desk. Eliza was too busy biting into the pack to really care where it came from.

Isabella gave Alice a smile of thanks. Smiling at Alice was starting to become a little bit of a habit, not that it was a habit she necessarily wanted to break. She turned back to Eliza and felt strange urge to be playful. Eliza was totally distracted with her pack of blood, so when Isabella reached out to muss up her hair she wasn't paying attention enough to avoid the attempt.

"You are _such_ a geek." Isabella murmured in a lightly teasing tone of voice.

Alice looked at all three of them and could see palpable relief on the expressions of both Isabella and Leah. Their concern for Eliza was deep and rooted in a very familial love. She grimaced slightly, although she loved her family, she hadn't felt that level of concern for any of them, in ages. It was a strange thing to want to feel concern for someone, something greater than the static existence that she seemed to be stuck in. The last time she felt that way about anything was when she was with Bella, and again tonight with Isabella. Was her love the only thing that meant anything to her anymore? She shook her head in denial, she couldn't rest her hopes on a love that might never happen.

Eliza shook her head slightly in a vain attempt to get her hair to fall back into place after it had been mussed up by her mother. She ended up looking like she'd lost a fight with a blow dryer, but was too preoccupied with quenching her thirst to protest.

_"__**Am I dead?**__" _ Said a small disembodied voice.

Both Isabella and Eliza whipped their heads around in unison to stare at the form of Bree, though she hadn't moved yet and she certainly hadn't spoken out loud.

Isabella looked at Eliza and said dryly. "I leave you alone for five minutes...! Okay. New house rule. Vampires are not food."

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**Author's notes: These are the Author's notes for both chapters 30 and 31. **

**1) An announcement. Four chapters ago, there was a slight change in the status quo. DarkBella, who's help was AMAZING, and I'm eternally grateful for. (If you get the chance go check out her story Future Seen Darkly. It's awesome) Due to real life circumstances, is no longer working on this story with me. **

**However that being said, I've got a new partner on the story. Samantha Minuet. She started out with AMAZING reviews and then offered to spot beta. She is an amazing person and an awesome help. After her help on chapters 28 and 29 I've asked if she'd be willing to make this a collaboration between the two of us. To my eternal thankfulness. She has graciously accepted. **

**So if you notice a slightly different style over the past two chapters you're not crazy. She has asked one or two questions that then turn into whole new sections. (Originally chapter 31 started out with 3 memories and they were all Bree) She has been amazingly patient as I dither over a line here or there. **

**2) WHoooo. Hard to believe this started out as about 4k words and reached over 9k. After some debate we decided to split it up into two chapters. But post them at the same time. I'm sure this will effect the review numbers. Which i'm totally okay with. **

**The last chapter was REALLY dark, and really hard to write. Getting into that sort of dark emotions was hard for us. But i think it added to the story. However we added a warning at the beginning of it that the last chapter was not a *necessary* read to enjoy our story. **

**3) Samantha Minuet's Author's notes: Would it sound weird if I said that I enjoyed working on these chapters (30 & 31)? Not that I liked slogging through toxic emotions, but the challenge was a fascinating one. Once again Kathryn has tested me with a very ambitious idea, and together we added a ridiculous amount of additional content (seriously when we started it was half as long). I can't wait for you guys to see what's coming up next, sooo much fun stuff is coming! Until next time! **

**4) She's right. ^_^ lots of fun stuff coming down the pipe. Still gotta few twists and turns to navigate before our heroines (now numbering three!) get some time to relax. Gotta get through those before I get back to Eliza/Leah or Isabella/Alice **

**5****) For those of you who reviewed and PM'd me, i hope you like the direction I'm taking Bree. I'm not promising that she won't die. (I never promise that. ANYONE could die) But I do like the direction she's going now. Here's a LITTLE secret..., I had initially planned it this way. I admit to a little bit of a psyche out in the chapter title and author's notes. I was hoping that you'd think I was going to kill her. So you wouldn't immediately guess where I was going with it. I hope you're not too mad at me!**

**6) I haven't responded to reviews in the last two chapters but I plan to over the next day or so, so don't think I've suddenly turned a blind eye O_O I haven't I swear. Every ONE of them is appreciated. **

**Please continue to read and review! We do read them and they do matter to us!**


	32. The Ties that Bind

**Chapter 32**

Isabella glanced at Eliza who had just dropped her bag of blood into the nearly overflowing biohazard trash bin. Before she leaned in close to the still immobile girl spoke very gently. "You're not dead sweetheart. Can you sit up?"

Bree groaned, then softly and slowly pushed herself to a sitting position. She frowned in confusion and held her hands in front of her face, though her face was still mostly obscured by her hair. Then as if she were pulling back a curtain, she reached up and slowly swept the hair out way to behind her ears.

The girl looked relatively the same, her features were slightly softer, and more full than they were before. It was hard to tell the difference though, because the most noticeable thing about her change was the lack of the grey lines that had covered nearly every inch of her skin.

Eliza and Isabella both exchanged glances. It was slightly reassuring to see the girl hadn't adopted their nearly identical features. Unfortunately it didn't really answer the basic question the two of them had always wondered. What made Eliza change so dramatically? Before Eliza had been changed from a hybrid, to whatever the term was for what she was now, Eliza preferred Hybrid vampire, she had a facial structure and skin tone of someone typical of that region. Afterwards her features had been drastically altered so that she physically resembled Isabella.

The result of Bree's transformation was far less dramatic, in fact beyond a few simple differences in the lines of her face and the fullness of her body, she hadn't changed much at all. Her features were a bit less gaunt, and a bit more full. But she didn't look much like either of them. Eliza frowned a little at that, whether the lack of change in Bree was because Eliza had been a hybrid when she changed, or maybe something more subconscious on Eliza's part, it didn't answer their half century old question at all.

Bree began to rub her fingers together in front of her face slowly, staring in amazement. "I can feel my hands again." Her wonderment over such a simple difference spoke volumes of the effect Eliza had brought to the girl's life.

Eliza and Isabella glanced at each other, Eliza speaking first. "It should all be out of your system now."

Bree looked up at the two of them, "Thank you." She spoke softly, she was clearly grateful and amazed that she was miraculously better.

Isabella shook her head and gave the girl a smile. "More my daughter's doing than anything I did. Are you thirsty?"

She frowned a little bit and then nodded. Alice was ready with a the last of the blood supply, handing it to the girl with an open and friendly smile. After only a moment's hesitation Bree took it tentatively, before biting into the thick plastic and drinking greedily.

_"__**What the hell happened to me?" **_Bree thought as she savored the bag. Even hungry she felt better than she had in ages

Eliza glanced at Isabella who sighed visibly as she looked around the room aware of the presence of others. "Look, Bree. Things have… changed. Quickly. There are some things you must know, but those are things I don't want to get into here.

Isabella paused, clearly considering her words. "If you will allow it, Eliza and I will take you to our home. I give you my word you'll be safe. Then, I promise you that I… we… will explain everything." She corrected herself with a glance at her daughter.

"You don't have to leave, you're more than welcome to stay here" Esme said, a sense of eagerness and hope tingeing her voice.

Isabella shook her head slowly. "No. I appreciate the offer, but this situation is untenable. We have two covens, a pack of shifters, two Volturi members, and one former member of a newborn army."

"And a partridge in a pear tree!" Eliza sang softly, causing Leah to snort in amusement.

Isabella shook her head with another sigh, "My point is that things are far too volatile here as it is. I think everyone needs some time to decompress, and not to be too blunt but we need some privacy." Isabella stood up, her voice taking on a more formal tone. "Once again we owe you a debt."

Carlisle shook his head and replied, "Not this time, I'd say this time that the debt is ours. You saved our lives."

Isabella tilted her head and then nodded once in acknowledgement of the statement, she also noted that he didn't protest the first part of her rebuttal. She turned her head back to Bree who was looking around warily at everyone before nodding slowly in agreement. She was obviously checking the faces of those surrounding her for any signs of aggression. Even with that heightened sense of agitation, she finished the bag of blood in record time, and tossed it on top of the rest of the empty bags, causing it to finally overflow from trash bin onto the floor.

"Yeah... I'd like that." Bree said somewhat happily, as she stared at sheer number of empty bags. She couldn't understand how she had consumed all that blood in the short time she had been in with these people.

Isabella reached down and helped both Eliza and Bree to their feet. Isabella then turned to led them out of the room without a further word, though when she stepped across the threshold she couldn't help herself from stealing a backwards glance at Alice who met her eyes unwaveringly. Isabella allowed another very brief smile to cross her lips, before she turned abruptly and headed down the stairs.

No one spoke as they left, and an eerie sense of stillness created an acute sense of tension because of that silence. Eliza and Bree followed Isabella's lead, directly followed by Leah, Jacob and the rest of the pack. The eyes of both covens followed them as they disappeared one by one through the front doors. A mix of expressions ranging from relief to sadness at their departure marked their faces.

Jacob had mentioned quickly to Isabella that the wolves were headed home to talk to their council. Leah had looked very reluctant to be parting from Eliza so quickly, but Eliza reassured her it wouldn't be for too long, but they needed some time to talk to Bree, and that she was welcome to swing by their house after the council meeting concluded. The eagerness in Eliza's voice reassured Leah far more than anything else could and she'd promised to be there as soon as possible.

Isabella and Eliza fell back behind the wolf pack as they headed into the forest and Bree slowed down with them, keeping a very close personal proximity to Isabella and Eliza. She stopped and turned to look up and ask a question of the two women who had taken her under their wings, when a slight snarl interrupted her.

"Why would you chose those... mutts over us Bella?" The disgusted voice came from their right periphery of vision. They turned as one to see Edward's sneering face as he emerged from behind a nearby tree. Then he sighed heavily before striding confidently towards the three of them. Coming to a stop twenty yards away, although he seemed less openly hostile, his look of disgust hadn't dissipated.

Before Isabella could form an equally disgusted response, a sudden roar of fury erupted from directly behind her. Isabella whirled her head around just in time to see Bree crouching and leaping towards Edward in one smooth feral movement, the roar growing as her legs launched her towards her target.

They were both caught so completely off guard that neither reacted as she pounced on him. A look of shock and surprised bewilderment dominated Edward's previously sour expression. He hadn't expected the attack, and the mental void suddenly above him distracted him to no end. On top of that Bree's strength was impressive and she seemed totally committed to her action. The first rake of her fingernails across his face and neck quickly banished his initial reaction though. He recovered just enough to began to struggle, except he had no idea how to mount an effective defense against her furious, unpredictable, and powerful onslaught.

Eliza and Isabella both tilted their heads in shock and amusement for a few moments, neither sure if they wanted to stop her. It was Eliza that acted first, knowing if anyone was going to end his life, it should be her mother. She blurred to the two prone figures, and timed her movement around Bree's furiously moving arms to grab her around the waist and pull her away. Eliza leapt back several meters, and held tightly to her, while she struggled to get free.

Edward stood immediately, with a look of horror and indignation on his face, that immediately melted into smug satisfaction. "I told you she was dangerous." Isabella narrowed her eyes, and glanced back at her daughter, still struggling with the girl.

"Eliza. Why don't you take her home, so she can get some distance calm down." Isabella's commanding voice was surprisingly mild, and even reached Bree who seemed to calm down a bit. She stopped actively struggling against Eliza, but vicious snarls and growls still escaped her throat, in a vain attempt to taunt Edward into attacking her.

_**"I'll let go of you if you don't go after him, can I trust you?"**_ Eliza sent through the connection towards Bree. This distracted Bree for a long moment as she tried to process what was happening. Hearing voices, usually that was a very bad sign.

_**"Yes."**_ She replied after a few more seconds. Her reply was cautious, and the sound of Eliza speaking so clearly in her mind distracted her enough to break through the haze of fury she had been lost in. With a some trepidation Eliza let go of Bree, and offered a hand to lead her away. Bree gave Edward a long withering glare, and then took Eliza's hand and followed her into the forest and away from Edward. Isabella watched them go until they disappeared from view, then she turned to regard Edward.

"I choose Jacob and his pack because they don't abandon someone just because that someone might make their life inconvenient." She said with more than a little disdain, and then crossed her arms to look at him with a purposefully blank look on her face. He met her glare with one of his own. Isabella rolled her eyes, "So are you trying to provoke me because you're insane, or just suicidal?"

_**"A rather tautological question if you ask me. Either way I vote you oblige him, Mother." **_Eliza's amused voice rang in Isabella's mind, a comment that caused Isabella to smirk slightly.

_**"What does taught e logical mean?" **_Bree asked still trying to grasp how she could hear them in her head like that.

_**"It means saying the same things twice in different ways, and I'll take that under advisement , Daughter." **_Isabella replied trying not to sound amused.

_**"Let's leave her alone for now sweetie." **_Eliza thought to Bree.

_**"Okay, but if you don't want to hurt him I'll do it!" **_ Bree offered, getting used to the new way of communicating. Eliza chuckled out loud.

"That's not our decision to make. We'll explain everything back at the house, I promise." Eliza said vocally. Bree nodded a couple of times and squeezed Eliza's hand tightly.

Isabella returned her attention back to Edward who continued to glare at her for a moment, before his expression dissolved into one of apology, however, the smug glint in his eyes stayed the same as always.

"I'm sorry." His voice was oddly apologetic, and sounded sincere. Isabella raised an eyebrow a little dubious, but the rest of her expression didn't change as she waited for him to elaborate.

Edward took a slightly confident step forward, before continuing in the most earnest tone of voice he was capable of. "I know you're angry with me, and you have every right to be. In careful consideration of my actions, I realize that I should never have left you in that forest. For that I am truly sorry."

Isabella's face remained frozen, she was again caught completely off guard and didn't trust herself to react reasonably. It was the last thing she had expected to hear from him. Edward apologizing, was just enough to break through her control. In that moment a flash of her uncertainty crossed her face for just a moment and she looked down.

Edward noticed the flash, and interpreted it as crack in her resolve. Sensing an advantage he pressed on, his earnest voice taking on a consoling and coaxing tone. "Why don't you stay here with us? You could spend time with the family, with me. Things can be like they used to be..."

"Things can be as they used to be..." Isabella repeated in a monotone, she knew exactly where this was going. He hadn't really apologized at all, he was just using a different tactic to get through to her.

Edward appeared to get excited as he continued, "Yes, I can make everything up to you. We can spend time together. We can make up for all the time we lost. You can have a family again." This was the Bella he remembered, the tentative uncertain Bella who was unsure and could be coaxed into almost any decision.

Isabella met Edward's gaze briefly before closing her eyes and taking a breath, though her voice stayed monotone, giving no indication to her thoughts. "I have a family of my own."

Edward's face turned sympathetic and he ghosted forward another step as he sensed further vulnerability, "The Volturi? You know they're not a real family. They're opportunistic, only interested in power and what you can do for them. You know my family isn't like that."

"The Volturi just do what is necessary to keep order, and to make sure the humans at large never learn about us. It's to keep us all safe. We don't go picking fights for the fun of it." Isabella's voice was a mild protest, but an intentional one. She was setting him up, with a careful and calculated attempt to trick him into revealing his true motivations.

"No, if you believe that, then you're more mislead than I imagined. The Volturi hold death over the heads of everyone. Get out of line and the Volturi will kill you, or someone you care about, or both. They have the power to back it up, which is why everyone fears them, and lets them run things. A real family doesn't work like that." Edward was smiling widely, his coaxing voice taking on a note of condescension as he became more and more certain of her sudden vulnerability.

"Well… it sounds like you know the process pretty well. Using threats to keep people in line." Isabella's eyes snapped up to meet his, and all uncertainty disappeared from her face. "Maybe it's a vampire thing. Isn't that the exact same approach you used with your family when you left me behind? Threatening to kill me if any of your family came back?

Edward stumbled back a couple of steps, clearly taken aback by the sudden accusation. Even though he knew exactly who had told Isabella of his threats. His facade of civility and friendship faded into a harsh scowl as he hissed out, "Alice…"

Isabella's voice turned slightly taunting as she smiled, with an expression that was utterly lacking in any sort of humor. "Oh, does that bother you? The fact that your little secret is out? Such a loving and wonderful family you have, kept together by threats and lies. And now you're offering me a place in that same environment." Isabella's voice turned completely deadpan. "Tempting. Really. But as appealing as that offer is though. I'm going to have to pass. Are you proud of the fact that you forced them to abandon me. All because it was inconvenient to have a human around?"

"You don't understand my motivations. You were a child, I had to make the choice you couldn't. I can't believe you haven't grown out of that naiveté." Edward sneered, all trace of gentleness and kindness leaving his face. "We left you for the right reasons, and you got exactly what you always wanted. You became a soulless monster. Congratulations."

Isabella's response was pointed, and all the more cutting because of its softness. "You never understood what I wanted. You _never_ will."

Edward scowled, "Forget the past, you need help now. Don't you understand that Vampires and wolves don't mix. I'm trying to save you the trouble that is sure to come from associating with those… mongrels."

"I make my own choices now. Which includes who I associate with." Isabella turned and strode away from him towards Eliza and Bree.

Edward watched her go and then muttered softly under his breath. "We'll see." He turned back to look at the house where he could see most of his family and the Denali outlined in the floor to ceiling windows watching the interaction. His eyes focused on Alice and they narrowed. "We'll see." He said again. Alice met his glare with one of her own, her building hatred of him radiating from her stare. She smirked at him, which forced another snarl to erupt from his throat. He gave Alice a look that promised retribution before disappearing back into the forest, convinced that all he needed was time, and the right leverage to get his Bella back; though he made a deliberate show of going in a different direction than Bella had. He had no interest in appearing to his family, or the Denali that he was crawling after her in an pathetic attempt to win her back.

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Isabella headed into the forest in the direction of home. She'd idly been wondering whether or not Edward would be there if she ran back to punch him in the face. She resisted the urge, but she was close to giving into it. She'd made it almost a quarter of a mile before she came upon Eliza and a very remorseful looking Bree.

The instant Bree saw Isabella she began apologizing, almost pleading. "I'm _so so_ sorry. I have no idea what came over me. I shouldn't have said that stuff, please don't be angry. I won't speak out of place again, I promise. It's just all those images of him went through my head, and I couldn't stop myself."

Isabella glanced over at Eliza and raised a worried eyebrow, "You didn't explain anything to her?"

Eliza shrugged with a helpless expression on her face, "I tried to, but every time I tried to get a word in edgewise she started apologizing again."

Isabella sighed and gestured ahead of her in the vague direction of home. "Why don't we walk and talk? There's… some things you need to understand."

Bree nodded hesitantly, taken aback by Isabella's calm voice. "O...kay." A calm offer to walk and talk was not what Bree expected. She'd expected a violent outburst and severe punishment. The only thing that kept her from running, was that she had learned the hard way that running always made it worse.

Isabella nodded and then started walking toward home, After another hesitant moment Bree fell into step beside her. Eliza took up a step behind, it was simply not practical for three people to walk side by side in the forest.

"First off, you're not in trouble." Isabella said with a reassuring smile, her gaze intent on Bree's reactions. "Secondly, could you explain what you mean? About the images of Edward? I just want to be sure of something before I make assumptions."

Bree hesitated and nodded slowly. "When I was out… I thought I was dying because I saw all these things in my head. They were like… hallucinations or my life flashing before my eyes or something, but it wasn't my life. Most of those people in that house were in it, and a bunch of others that were really frightening, all that fighting and death. Then when I saw him it felt like he hurt me, and I couldn't take it."

Isabella sighed a little bit, and glanced back at her daughter, that being all she needed to confirm her suspicions. "They weren't hallucinations. Do you remember Eliza biting you?"

Bree stopped in place clearly startled, and looked back at Eliza with a worried frown. "She bit me? Why did she bite me?"

"Bad habit of mine. Some people crack their knuckles, some people pick their noses, some people chew tobacco. I bite vampires. I haven't found a VBA group yet, you know Vampire Biting Anonymous." Eliza said completely deadpan.

Bree blinked and stared at Eliza blankly, she had no idea respond to that, or even where to begin to understand it.

Isabella sighed theatrically at the expression on Bree's face. "You'll get used to Eliza's sense of humor." Eliza grinned at that before Isabella continued. "It's like a rash, eventually the burning and irritation goes away. Well… the burning anyway."

Eliza's grin turned into a playful pout. "Hey…"

Isabella just shook her head and turned back to Bree. "Yes, Eliza bit you, and you bit her. She's only done that once before. And from what we can tell, it has an effect on the body and mind." Bree's expression looked doubtful and Isabella shrugged, "Those images that made you so mad when you saw Edward standing there? I'm guessing that's because you saw my memories, albeit not in one coherent stream."

Bree frowned "Why would _her_ biting me, give me _your m_emories?" She asked incredulously.

Isabella smiled wryly, "Because I was the first vampire she bit. We are bonded."

"Bonded?" The girl asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

Isabella stopped walking and turned to look at the girl, making sure she had Bree's full attention. _**"Yes. Bonded." **_She watched Bree's reaction closely to make sure the girl understood that their peculiar form of communication was a part of their bond.

"_**Like I said, when she bites someone, it bonds us. First it bonded Eliza and I, and now you have apparently bonded with us as well." **_Isabella said, making sure to keep her lips tightly together just to drive the point home.

_**"So that's why we can talk like this? Does that mean you can tell what I'm thinking about too?" **_Bree replied in kind, growing more confident in the mental exchange.

_**"Yes, to both questions."**_ Isabella replied honestly and switched back to verbal speech to make the girl more comfortable. "I can teach you how to keep us out, it doesn't take much to learn how, but it's generally more trouble than it's worth. However, the reverse should be true as well. If you try, you might be able to read our minds as well."

"Doesn't that ever get a little... you know... weird?" Bree asked. Her voice was calm, and much to Isabella's surprise she seemed to be processing the information quite logically.

It was Eliza that spoke up this time. "You know, sometimes it can get a little bit weird, especially while you learn to control your internal monologue. Mom and I have alot of practice at it, so don't be ashamed if you say something you don't necessarily mean."

Bree looked back and forth between the two of them. "You're really mother and daughter?"

Isabella chuckled a little bit and glanced back at Eliza, "Why don't you fill her in on that?"

Eliza glanced at Isabella and nodded. "Well, we're not exactly related by blood. You see we..." and proceeded to outline the whole story, and the particulars of their unique connection for Bree as they walked through the forest towards home. She didn't go into graphic detail, but she didn't whitewash anything either. Bree listened with rapt attention, but didn't ask any questions until Eliza had completed her narrative.

Bree remained silent for several minutes after Eliza finished, digesting what she had heard before she finally spoke up. "Some... of the things I saw make a little bit more sense now." She spoke slowly, looking back and forth between Eliza and Isabella a few times before looking down. In a whispered comment to she muttered half to herself, "It must be nice."

Isabella tilted her head curiously at her. "What do you mean?" She had expected Bree to ask questions or just be flat out confused. She didn't expect that reaction, and it sort of threw her for a loop. The expression on Eliza's face told the same story.

Bree hesitated before replying softly, "Nothing. I was just wondering what it's like to have someone you can be so close to. To have a real family."

Isabella blinked in surprise and glanced at Eliza, but Eliza was already moving to wrap the smaller Bree up in her arms. "It's okay sweetie." Eliza said trying to comfort her.

The girl looked surprised and fought against the embrace for few seconds to keep from breaking down, before she gave in and began to sob into Eliza's shoulder. Isabella stood beside them awkwardly and crossed her arms, clearly uncertain what to do in this situation. Eliza hadn't often broken down like this, and Isabella wasn't really used to being confronted with someone's emotions like that. She felt for the girl but wasn't sure how best to show it.

It was a minute or so later before Bree got herself under control enough to start to talk again. "I'm sorry. It's just... I'm so jealous. I've never had anything good like what you guys have. I'm still confused why you guys came out of nowhere, to protect me. I saw you fight, why did you go from ready to kill me, to ready to fight for me?"

Eliza and Isabella exchanged a glance, and this time it was Isabella that stepped forward, "Bree, we chose to protect you because we could see you didn't want to harm anyone. You hadn't done anything wrong really, and you just were in over your head. Despite what our fellow coven members think, being trapped in circumstances beyond your control and unable to anything about it isn't a crime."

Eliza frowned as a thought occurred to her, and she spoke up curiously to her mother "If what your dickhead ex said is true about that vampire being able to plant compulsions in so many people, how did Bree not end up with the same compulsion?"

Isabella frowned at the question, it wasn't something that had occurred to her before. "I'm not exactly sure. Edward said he was having trouble reading her, that it was all fuzzy… maybe she has some kind of natural mental resistance." Isabella looked at Bree with a raised eyebrow.

Bree shrugged helplessly, "I don't know. I didn't even know what was going on. I just thought everyone was worked up"

"Why do you think you didn't get worked up with everyone else?" Isabella asked thoughtfully.

"I don't know… I just remember feeling like it was a bad idea…" Bree frowned, trying to remember, and only able to recall a peculiar aversion she felt to Aliyah's call for violence.

Isabella frowned thoughtfully and nodded though she didn't comment on it further, instead she changed the topic slightly. "I also wanted to make sure you knew… the images you saw of our lives, well …you need to understand, that link went both ways."

Bree's expression was one of confusion for several seconds before she understood what Isabella said, and then she blanched, and started to shudder. Her face twisting into a kind of pain and fear that made both of their hearts bleed for her. "You... saw my memories too?" She hunched her shoulders, defeated. Isabella clenched her teeth to find enough control to continue, it took every ounce of effort she had not to scream and then take off to find the monster that had done this to her. One look in Eliza's eyes and they knew they were having the same thoughts and urges.

"Yes we saw your memories. We know what you've been through." Isabella managed to sound as soft, and comforting as she was able, through her gritted teeth as a brief flash of Bree's pain and her father's ugliness flashed through her head. He would definitely be someone that they would be paying a visit to in the very near future.

Bree looked back and forth between Eliza and Isabella again, realization dawning on her face and melting into a kind of bewildered shock. "Y..You know? A..And you're still... okay with me?" There was open confusion on both Eliza and Isabella's faces at that question. "You saw what I've done… what I am… and you're still... not disgusted… with me?" Bree looked so confused and terrified that neither of them knew exactly what to do.

Eliza turned and looked to her mother, clearly wanting to reach out to the girl but uncertain and looking for any kind of direction. Isabella met her daughters gaze for a second before rolling her eyes, she stepped forward and wrapped the frightened girl up in a tight hug. "You are stuck with the two of us now. I promise you, there's nothing you'll do that will make us "not be okay" with you."

"Welcome to our very weird little family." Eliza added with a half giggle, before joining the two in a family hug. Bree didn't know how to react, except to hold on with everything she had. A physical embrace like this was something she'd never experienced before. They were touching her, holding her and weren't trying to hurt her. It was so much deeper than that. Bree could feel the emotions coming from both of them. While she didn't understand them all, she could only feel concern and sympathy radiating from them, not hate or malice. She could feel anger in Isabella but it definitely wasn't directed at her.

The three of them held onto each other for a long time until Bree was done being overwhelmed by emotion. They made sure she understood she was welcome, before separating. Then they all looked at each other taking in what had just happened. Bree especially was so overwhelmed she couldn't quite figure out what to feel first, joy being the biggest and most powerful feeling. Fear being the other, fear that they didn't mean it or they would change their minds. Fear that they would realize she wasn't worthy of them.

"You are a beautiful young woman who has had a hard life. I can't promise you an ordinary life or a normal family or anything. But one thing above all, we are your family now, and we take care of our own. That means we will never abandon you. Ever." Isabella said in response to Bree's unspoken fears. Bree looked at her with absolutely no idea how to take the commitment or compliment.

Then Eliza let out a little squee sound, something she did rarely because she knew it irritated her mother. She moved over a step, and quickly wrapped her arms around Bree again with enthusiasm. "I've totally always wanted a sister."

Bree pulled back to look up at Eliza's eyes first and then at Isabella's. "Does that mean it's okay if I call you _Mother_ too?" There was an almost naked expression of excitement on Bree's face at the idea of what they seemed to be offering her. The genuine joy she exuded hit both of them hard Isabella took a deep emotional breath, in an attempt to center herself. Eliza just pulled Bree back to her and hugged her tighter.

Isabella watched the two of them for several long moments. Bree's almost pleading expression never left her for a moment. Finally, Isabella sighed theatrically again, and a playful smile curled at her lips. "Well, I'm certainly not letting you call me grandma."

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**Author's notes: **

**1) Awwwwww Major thanks go out to Samantha Minuet for all of her amazing thoughts and additions and just her wonderful contriubitions! **

**2) Once again, for those of you who think Isabella is suddenly going to flip personalities, it's not going to happen. Bree will have an effect on her. which is only natural. But we'll have to see what those effects are. ****:) I hope you like where i've taken Bree.**

**3) Sharp-eyed Shoutout goes to Sylverlyf. In this case for reading my mind. Sylverlyf mentioned in a review that Eliza made her think of Eliza Dushku. Ironically enough that was who first popped into mind when i was brainstorming this character. She was the visual reference i used when originally constructing her personality and such. So... kudos for reading my mind! ^_^ a very strange place isn't it?**

**4) Samantha Minuet's Author's note: This was a fun chapter to edit, the emotions were a much easier pill to swallow. I think it's a great thing that Bree is a part of the group, a new dynamic can be a catalyst for change. What that change will be... well I'll never tell. Take a deep breath folks, the fit is about to hit the shan.**

**5) Uh yeah. You're really going to need it, I'll also say that you need to hang on to your hats! SO much fun coming down the pipe! *evil cackle* A major shift is about to happen! And you're either going to love it or... well... lets just say i'm glad you don't know where i live because I'd be watching for suspicious looking mail that ticks. **

**6) Quiz time! I've dropped enough hints at this point. (some obvious, some not so much) Anyone guessing what Isabella's power is? First person or two to get it gets a Sharp Eyed shout out in the author's notes! (I know! Such AMAZING prizes! O_O) **

**7) I will probably be responding to all reviews for the last 3 chapters tomorrow and wednesday! **

**Please read and review! **


	33. Visions and Traitors

**Chapter 33**

She had given him the barest hint of interest. Just a short look of tacit attraction, through a curtain of long brown hair. That's all he could tell of her, since her mind was blocked to him. Except for the unkind things bouncing through the minds of the insipid teenagers around her. Then Alice had a vision, that couldn't happen. A horrible future awaited this stranger. She would become a vampire, and she and Alice would be happy; holding hands, caressing each other, kissing, they would be perfect mates... it was perverse. He didn't know much beyond her name, Bella. All he knew was that had to stop that future from happening no matter what. It was a kindness to his sister, and a gift to this new stranger. She would never know the pain of transformation, and her soul would remain intact.

_Static_

The lonely storage facility was covered in a thick mist as Edward punched in the code that lifted the modest gate. Row upon row of identical structures, most would get lost in the sameness, especially since he hadn't been back in well over a decade. The key unlocked the space, the biggest and best of its kind. The dull hum of the environment conditioner irritated him a little as he made his way past a maze of canvas covered shapes. Abandoned furniture projects of Esme's, old sets of Rosalie's tools, entire closets worth of clothes forgotten by Alice, nothing real or important. At the back was his baby. The enamel was still glossy, the black still made his heart sing a little. The piano was perfect, but a single key stroke told him it was woefully out of tune.

_Static._

The explosion of thought felt like a million stars expanding around him before their brilliant light was snuffed out in the blink of an eye. A moment later Edward found himself laying in the rough dirt at the base of the tree he'd been perched in. No voices, no thoughts, all that remained was the white noise of dullness and his own thoughts. All that was left was silence. The absence of the usual prattling of minds felt wrong, as if the world had suddenly collapsed in on him. He needed to find out why, so he charged back towards the house, only to be startled by the baying of the mongrels that pretended to be men and women. His Isabella was following closely behind them, along with her.

_Static._

He'd spent hours correcting matching harmonics, tightening where needed, losing where necessary. Finally... Middle C. He danced his long fingers across the keys in just the right sequence to produce a sound that could make hearts weep. E-Sharp. The first keystroke in his tribute to her. The melody perfectly describing her, the shape of her hip into her bust, the line of her neck up to her jaw. The slope of her nose, the tilt of her lips and chin. He'd crafted the sounds around her, about her. His sonata, his masterpiece.

_Static. _

The little demon spawn, the newborn with her bright crimson eyes and hateful rage. Was a wrapped in the same void as Isabella, but she was just as wrong as Eliza, the bitch who was keeping his Bella from him and had probably robbed away his gift as well. No, she hadn't just robbed him of Bella, she had stolen her away from his family too. From Esme, who wanted nothing more than to love her. From Carlisle, who wanted nothing more than a daughter that wasn't stuck up like Rosalie or twisted like Alice.

_Static._

He swept his hands into patterns no human could master. He created just the right hint of beauty in a discordant cascade of notes. His last tribute to her, not their love song... no the tale of their last moment together, his requiem. His pain in having to lie, her pain... no his sacrifice. He kept that beautiful memory of her in his heart all these decades. He knew it was the right thing, to stay human, to keep her soul. More importantly to keep her humanity.

_Static._

She wasn't Bella. No. She was the thing that had consumed her. The demon doppelganger, Eliza. She had dug her otherworldly talon's into his beloved and twisted her. Along with that horrible newborn who must've been twisted in the same way as Isabella had been. Was it all Eliza's doing? Why couldn't Bella see, why couldn't he make her understand. No. Nothing he said would work, not even actions would work. Eliza's hold on her was simply too strong. Something else had to be done. But without his gift, how could he learn enough to manipulate everyone enough to separate them permanently.

_Static._

Middle C again, and again, and again. The cord started to lose tone as he struck the key until the ivory began to crack. Two hundred years old, the piano had been on four continents, seventeen countries, hundreds of cities. He had played countless hours of music on it. It was his most cherished of possessions. Except for her. And she was gone, stolen away by a demon with purple eyes. A demon that had taken all their thoughts away from him.

_Static._

Alice's continued obsession, that mocked his definition of love. Her expression had been all he needed to understand the truth. She wanted to keep his Bella away from him, her and that bitch Eliza. Alice would stand in his way, she would keep Bella from understanding her place. She would feed sweet immoral lies into her ears, confessing a love that she had no business confessing. Bella was his, for now and for all time. She was his other grand masterpiece. Molded, trained, controlled, happily submissive. She had been so hard to walk away from. No one could understand the depth of patience he had to endure, waiting for her simple mind to accept him, to love him unequivocally. No one could understand the sacrifices he had made for her. The hours of torment standing by her side. The constant gift of life he gave to her every moment he didn't give into her call. His singer. He ran away from his house, feeling no longer welcome among his family that supposedly loved him. Didn't they understand, all he wanted was to keep things in place, everyone needed to play their parts he wrote for them in his perfectly orchestrated performance.

_Static._

The cord snapped. Just like his last nerve. The silence was deafening since the voices went away. His Bella was gone, his other great possession. She died in that forest all those years ago. Now all that mattered was the music, but even his piano failed him, just like she had. He closed his fist. The keys shattered under his strength, the first blackened eye he should've given her. He stood knocking the stool down and back across the concrete. He slammed his other first into the lower keys, cracking the wood below it, the slaps and hits he didn't give her so that she would learn her place. Again and again he hit his favorite thing in the world, since his other favorite thing was beyond his reach. Splintering the wood, stretching the strings, pulverizing the ivory, bending her body to his will. He worked in silence, until all that was left was dust and rubble, her body broken and spent just like in his favorite dark fantasies of her. He screamed into the emptiness around him, and was met with nothing but mocking echoes that sounded just like her. He turned around and left without a backward glance. His beloved instrument, abandoned like all the rest of his family's forgotten trash. Abandoned like this Isabella had abandoned him.

_Nothing but static._

He knew what he had to do. If he couldn't have her, no one could.

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"What do you mean you have no idea where it's from?" Eliza demanded loudly as Isabella entered the house with both of her daughters in tow. Henry was sitting in the living room watching TV when they came in, he looked up a little startled at their loud entrance.

"Eliza… just let it drop." Isabella said with a touch of irritation as she crossed the threshold. Then she took a moment hang her cloak up in the closet by the door.

"Drop it? Drop it, how? Her movie knowledge is woefully inadequate, and it'll take me forever to bring her up to speed... but how can she not know about Gandalf sacrificing himself in Moria? It's… It's classic. It's like not knowing about Christmas!" Eliza protested, waving her hands around in the air for emphasis.

"It's hardly the end of the world, and It's not like we're getting any older, well physically." Isabella sounded indifferent, and a little tired of the argument. Still she kept a slight smile on her face, she loved Eliza's enthusiasm for books. It was something that Isabella had introduced her to.

From that first day after she brought Eliza home to Volterra, there had been a oddly quick learning curve. The first day Eliza went from illiterate to proficient in both reading and writing. At first Isabella was stunned at how fast Eliza was learning, since she knew she wasn't _**that**_ good of a teacher. Then she realized it wasn't that she was a great teacher; but a perfect one… for Eliza. With their connection, so new and not fully understood in those early days; Eliza had literally picked up how to do things directly from Isabella's mind, combined with her own natural intelligence made her learning curve days and weeks instead of years.

Isabella marveled at her new daughter's thirst for knowledge and experience, although she was slightly less infatuated with Eliza's preference for "geeky" things and her obsession with television and cinema. Eliza could spend hours watching movies or shows, sometimes over again and again. It wasn't something Isabella especially cared for, but in the early days she indulged her more often than not. After a while she would generally spend her free time in the training rooms sparring. Only occasionally giving into a request to watch something with her. However, usually she waved it off with a laugh, saying if she really wanted, she could always catch it in fast forward in Eliza's memories if she really felt the need.

It occurred to Isabella then, that Eliza would finally have someone to spend fun time with, someone to share her interests with, that could share in her enthusiasm. It made her happy to think of Bree as a member of the family. If anything ever happened to Isabella, Bree would be there for Eliza. Isabella knew Eliza still needed her, at least a little… but probably not for much longer. Privately she wondered if that was part of Eliza's sudden impulsive decision with Bree, a way to make sure Isabella was still needed.

"You don't get it. I pull off an _**awesome**_ distraction, and I do it by re-enacting one of the greatest cinema moments of all time. And the only non-biased person to see it, and still be alive… has no idea what it's from!" Eliza was in full pout mode.

"It was cool, and it was scary." Bree tried to add helpfully, with an earnest tone in her voice.

"Well... I guess if you've never seen it before it could be a little... I never thought about it that way." She pulled Bree into a hug and dragged her towards the television. "At least I know where to start." She pulled down one of the three large disc cases labeled A-L and flipped to the end.

Henry was observing Isabella and Eliza with an amused smile on his face and noted the new face eyeing him curiously. Henry coughed to draw attention to himself.

"Henry." Isabella nodded in greeting to the man, still watching Eliza with a twist of amusement on her face. He glanced at Bree with a question in his eyes.

"A new guest?" Henry guessed delicately. Isabella was about to shake her head when Eliza snapped her head in Henry's direction.

"Oh, I have to tell you what I did!" She sounded excited, bounding over the couch to stand in the open space of the room so she could demonstrate properly. Then she caught the expression on Henry's face and guessed that he was curious about Bree.

"Bree, Henry. Henry, Bree. So anyway, Mom told you about the newborn attack right?" Eliza started, before Isabella shook her head at her.

"Eliza, a proper introduction." Isabella scolded, though her tone reflected the barest hint of humor.

Eliza pouted again slightly, then turned to Bree and gestured to Henry. "Bree, this is Henry Jansen, he's a friend of ours and keeps things running around here."

After a small hesitation Isabella moved close to Bree and put her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders as she turned to look at Henry. The movement seemed a little stiff and awkward to Henry, but the subtleties were lost on Bree who looked up at Isabella, clearly nervous about what she would say.

"This is Bree, my newest daughter." her tone reflected her slight discomfort and resignation at the definition, but at the same time there was no mistaking the pride in her voice.

Bree's eyes went wide at the clear declaration, first a sister, then a mother. They were serious about including her in their family. She practically threw herself against Isabella and hugged her tightly.

Henry looked back and forth between Eliza who was smirking, and Bree who was clinging to Isabella with a child's need. He couldn't help but notice the pure the look of joy on the girl's face was. He wondered what she'd been through to display that level of affection towards someone she'd known for less than a day.

"Heck of a busy night." Henry deadpanned, although absolutely curious about what was sure to be one hell of a story.

"You have _no_ idea." Isabella rolled her eyes and squeezed the young girl gently. Feeling a sense of contentment she hadn't expected.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night and most of the next day went by quickly.

Eliza first forced them all to watch the first Lord of the Rings, which Bree loved. Then they spent hours talking, just the three of them. They spent the first bit questioning Bree about her history, and any details she might have forgotten, or seen as unimportant in relating her story the evening before.

The whole process was greatly facilitated by the fact that Bree could now show them exactly what she saw through the connection. Both Eliza and Isabella tensed when they were shown the image of Joham. Eliza stiffened and snarled for several minutes before she could calm herself down.

Her reaction scared Bree a little, but Isabella, who managed to calm down first after vibrating in her seat for almost a minute as well, shared the reasons for their anger. After the story shown and spoken, Bree was nearly as furious. Her sweet indignation at the idea of someone hurting her new family was truly endearing and broke both Isabella's and Eliza temporary fury. Unfortunately other than images of Joham's 'friends' , Bree's memories didn't provide much more insight on the experiments.

Then as dawn slowly broke, Bree started to get more and more nervous, even though the curtains were tightly drawn closed.

"What's the matter?" Eliza asked, worried that they might have shared too much darkness with her for one day. Still Bree had seemed to be getting more comfortable with her new situation little by little for hours, so it didn't make sense that she was getting nervous again.

"Shouldn't we go to the basement now before the sun gets us?" Bree asked nervously, looking ready to bolt for safety at a single hint of sunlight peaking through the cloth covering the windows.

Isabella shook her head, "There are a lot of things we need to teach you, and that is probably the first one we should get out of the way. Sunlight cannot not hurt us."

Bree looked at Isabella blankly as if she were playing some great joke on her, or worse that she wanted to get rid of her. Isabella shook her head, and sent several images of them walking in the daylight, but that only seemed to make things worse. Bree curled in on herself, and began to cower in one corner of the couch. She realized that vocal or even visual demonstrations weren't going to work. They would have to prove it to her, physically. She looked over at her first daughter. "Eliza would you please go and demonstrate?"

Eliza nodded and stood up, and walked out the front door into the morning light. The sun had just crested above the pink and purple clouds of dawn, and asure blue sky was slowly coming to bright contrast with the soft glow of early morning. The rays of light struck Eliza's skin and she basked in it's radiance, happy to have a sunny moment before the clouds moved in from off in the distance with their pendulous darkness threatening heavy rain.

Bree sat inside tensely, her eyes shut tightly awaiting Eliza's screams of pain, instead there was a light tap on the window. Isabella went to the curtains, and very slowly drew them back, so as not to alarm Bree. Despite Isabella's attempt, Bree jumped off the couch as the line of sunlight came towards her, darted over to the furthest corner away from the light, and cowered in terror.

When Isabella pulled the curtain all the way back, Bree gasped out loud and Isabella sighed almost as loudly. Outside, looking perfectly unhurt was Eliza. Instead of burning up in agonizing pain her skin seemed to catch the light in a million tiny reflections, making her entire face appear to shimmer and glow. Isabella knew from experiences in the past that the effect was more subdued than that normal vampires had but still more than enough for even human senses to get. The whole effect would have been breathtakingly beautiful, but Eliza had to spoil the moment by pressing her mouth up against the glass to make a giant blowfish face.

Isabella shook her head in exasperation "Seventy plus years old and still a child." Her irritation and her exasperation were mollified though as she watched Bree. Even Eliza stopped goofing around to watch Bree.

Bree hesitantly stuck her hand into the light for a second, before jerking it back in the same movement. Then she carefully examined her hand to make sure there was no burns before she held it out again, this time she held it in the light. Her face scrunched up like she was bracing herself for the worst, but after a moment she relaxed, and opened her eyes to stare at her hand. She turned hand around slowly in the ray of sunshine, startled by the same radiant effect the light had on her skin as Eliza's. Isabella watched happily as an expression of sheer joy filled Bree's countenance.

She almost laughed when the tension completely relaxed from her body, and she straightened up and blurred out the front door without even bothering to test anymore. Once she was immersed in the morning sunlight, she took a deep breath of the crisp cool morning air. She just stood absolutely still for a long moment with her face turned to the sun, leaning against the railing of the front porch breathing deeply. Isabella moved into the doorway behind her, a small smile on her face.

Bree let out a laugh and turned to tackle Eliza in fierce hug. Unfortunately, Eliza had shifted to half sit on the porch railing and Bree's momentum sent them right through the sturdy wood, destroying a good portion of the gorgeous woodwork as they hit the ground.

Bree's mood completely flipped and she immediately seemed to panic, looking up at Isabella "Oh god I'm so sorry, please I didn't mean to, I'm sorry! I forgot…" her apology trailed off as the sound of Eliza's laughter penetrated her thoughts.

Eliza grinned and gestured with her head to where Isabella still stood at the front door, "Bree, it's okay. There used to be a screen door there, we haven't replaced it yet. Mom broke that Wednesday." Then she pointed up towards the attic window. It was it was still only boarded over, since the window hadn't been replaced yet. "She broke that on Wednesday too."

"Excuse me, dear. You broke that window." Isabella replied, without a trace of anger in her voice.

"It was your stubbornness and your body that broke it." Eliza replied haughtily.

"Yes, because you _tackled_ me through the window to stop me from leaving." Isabella replied dryly.

Bree had been flinching waiting for the inevitable pain, but when it didn't come she relaxed enough to absorb their easy banter. There were no shouts of anger, threats, accusations, and neither of them tried to move to hit her.

"If you two are finished I think it's quite obvious that we have a lot of stuff to talk about." Isabella shook her head, faint amusement in her tone.

"Yes Mother," Eliza giggled as she got to her feet and then helped Bree up, before they followed Isabella back into the house.

The three of them spent the rest of the day talking. Isabella and Eliza gave the girl a full crash course on being a vampire, and the world they lived in. Shortly before noon, they were joined by Leah who settled in on the couch next to Eliza after briefly checking in on her brother.

Bree watched Leah warily, shifting away from her toward Isabella. When Isabella asked her why, she explained and shared images of the wolves they had met up with, including how many times they nearly attacked the other vampires, including her.

Explaining everything stretched out through the day and into the early evening. Bree was full of questions as she asked about Isabella's history and Eliza's history to make better sense of what she'd seen, and then asked about Leah and her pack. Henry joined them for a little bit after a breakfast in the afternoon. Bree peppered him with questions about himself which he answered without hesitation. Henry eventually excused himself to go into the Batcave to check up on things.

When he left, Bree looked at Isabella and Eliza in confusion, "I didn't attack him..." she said, though it came out as more of a question and was more full of surprise than anything. Isabella tilted her head curiously at that statement, silently inviting Bree to expand on what she meant.

"Before… anytime we got near humans we couldn't help ourselves. I couldn't help myself. Joham said that was normal for a newborn, that the scent of a human would be irresistible to us, that it was natural for us to be unable to stop ourselves. He said it would take years to learn that sort of control." Bree looked around guiltily as if she was suddenly afraid she was confessing some great sin.

Isabella nodded, "That might've been one of the only things they didn't lie to you about, newborn's usually do have a lot of trouble controlling themselves. It generally does take several months, even years to learn to be able to control your thirst normally. But… like we explained, you're different now. You're like us. You still need blood but it's less of an instinctual impulse, so it isn't so urgent and overriding. Control won't always be simple, but I can say from experience that it is _easier." _

They continued to talk as the topics got more general and Bree attempted to learn more about the odd family that seemed to have taken her in. Then they all started to talk about little things, personal details that were less about family secrets or histories than the things that they liked or just wanted to share. Eliza made a mental note of Arnold and tucked that bit away for a surprise gift down the road, she also managed to glean Bree's birthday without drawing attention to it.

It was still a ways off, but she knew the girl had never celebrated a single one. Isabella wasn't exactly fond of birthdays, but Eliza made a big deal of them every year. She loved the sense of family and togetherness that came from celebrating each other for a day. Sometime in late afternoon the following day, they had shifted outside to sit on the porch. The group wasn't really aware of the passage of time until Henry came outside and coughed to get Isabella's attention.

Henry's expression was grave as he met Isabella's eyes. "The Volturi Council is demanding to speak with you, and Aro does not look happy." Isabella gave him a puzzled look but nodded. Henry jerked his thumb toward the basement. "They're using a webcam, I have no idea when they started using Skype, but even Caius is in on the call. They want to speak to you now. Both of you."

Isabella shrugged and stood up, heading into the house and toward the basement, wondering what was going on. Eliza followed suit, though she paused when Leah caught her eye.

"I think I'll go get Paul and Seth and see if they want to come outside, stretch their arms and legs as long as they're careful. If we leave them cooped up in their rooms too much longer they might go nuts." Leah was standing up and shaking her head in amusement as she continued "Skype huh? Next thing you know these old vampires will be Tweeting."

Eliza looked at Leah blankly, "Aro loves twitter."

Leah's mouth dropped open, "Seriously?"

Eliza nodded turning her head to follow Isabella down to the basement, saying over her shoulder "Yeah, I know. Mom and I have argued over which is creepier; that he follows the Kardashian sluts and those Jersey Shore morons, that he follows the Pope, or that he religiously follows Adam Lambert in hopes of another European tour."

She shook her head a couple of time's at the ridiculousness of that image that still startled her to this day, and frowned to see Bree close on her heels. She almost turned to shoo her away, but they had to tell the Council about her at some point, might as well get it over with.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Aro hung up the phone and shook his head lightly before he glanced first at Marcus and then at Caius. He frowned slightly, and directed his focus on Caius, when he spoke his tone was light but serious. "I'm afraid that our fears have come to pass." _

_Caius narrowed his eyes at Aro, "What fears are those?" _

_"I'm afraid that we may not be able to trust our two princesses anymore." Aro replied. Caius' face broke slowly into a cruel grin._

_"What have they done?" Marcus' dull voice asked; causing both Aro and Caius to glance at him in surprise. He almost never spoke with interest about anything. _

_Aro regained his composure after a brief moment. "It seems that young Eliza has entered into some sort of dalliance with a young female wolf shifter." _

_Caius hissed immediately, "Unacceptable! I told you that alliance was a mistake! This… this is so far beyond that!" His tone reflected a combination of fury and disgust. _

_"I agree brother, they are all a danger to our kind regardless of their current affiliations. They'll all turn against us eventually, so we must destroy them before they have the opportunity." Aro elaborated to no one in particular. Caius was already chomping at the bit to call their lives forfeit._

_"Those wolves have not openly attacked." Marcus argued, which again struck both Caius and Aro as unusual. Both gave each other slight glances confirming that they were already on the same page._

_"There is no proof of that innocence. We now have four covens that have been destroyed all within the past fortnight. Always the scent of shifters and vampires on the remains. We can no longer afford the risk. They are allies now, but if they turn on us they pose an unacceptable threat. They must be destroyed, and Eliza knows better than to lower herself to lie with that creature it's a... perversion." Caius practically spit out the last word, as if it its meaning wasn't quite enough to illustrate his point._

_Aro held out his hand in a calming gesture. "Calm yourself brother. You are correct. This is not acceptable." _

_"What are we planning to do?" Caius asked, his face crinkled angrily. _

_Aro shrugged, "It's rather simple. We shall give them a choice. If they chose to obey our will, then there is no problem at all. If however they chose to contest our decision, it is good that we have a contingency that will solve the problem permanently." _

_"Are you sure it's worth losing them?" Once again, Marcus' voice surprised the other two, even though he still remained as detached as ever, but three vocal reactions to a single debate was practically unheard of. It spoke to his mild attachment to the girls, something Aro noted silently. _

_"It would be a shame to lose two such… valued commodities." Aro said, his voice brimming with regret. "But if they chose to protest this, and given their sometimes stubborn nature it's possible, I'm afraid we must act to curb such insubordination. Not only as a lesson to the others, but as their final punishment for repeated acts. No one is above reproach." _

_Caius grinned and rubbed his hands together with a dreadful eagerness. "They'll never know what hit them. Now they'll finally pay for their impertinences, not that they'll ever learn how to show the proper respect."_

_Aro nodded once and called one of the guards over. "Set up the call, immediately."_

Alice was in her room, rigid in shock from the impact of the vision. She could tell that Aro and Caius had already made up their minds, and there was no way Isabella and Eliza were going to submit to breaking their alliance with the Quileute's. She didn't know what the contingency was going to be, but there was no time to figure it out. Without another moment of hesitation she leapt out of the nearest window, and pressed into a sprint as soon as she hit the ground. She knew there was no point in alerting the others, so she didn't even bother to shout a word of warning to her family or the Denali.

The forest seemed thicker with underbrush, more dense with trees. Even as quickly as she ran she felt slow, even though she was recklessly smashing through obstacles. She only had a vague idea which direction Isabella's house was based on spotty information from Jasper. Her only hope and prayer was that she wasn't already too late, since she wasn't sure how far in the future the vision took place.

As she ran she tried to look ahead, but she only got blank spots when she tried to picture Isabella or Eliza, or their house. She pushed herself faster than she had ever moved before, leaping through the forest as fast as her legs could move. She replayed the vision in her mind, and it continued into the conversation... no she wouldn't let that happen. She reached down deep inside, and somehow managed to push even faster, her only though was to get to Isabella and warn her before...

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Isabella descended the stairs, Eliza and Bree right behind her, with Henry bringing up the rear. There were several monitors throughout the basement on different parts of the wall, but most of them were dark at the moment. The central screen, which was by far the largest, a full 59 inch flat screen TV, was front and center, and on it appeared the Volturi throne room.

"Gramps! Uncle C! Uncle M! You're using Skype now? Letting our home at Volterra join the twenty-first century is awesome!" Eliza said as she and Isabella came to stand in front of the monitor. Despite her teasing of Leah a few moments earlier, the Volturi Council tended to be slow to adopt technology. Caius hadn't even allowed electrical lights in his room until a few years earlier, when he had left a candle sitting precariously on a shelf. It had tipped over and burnt one of his favorite books.

Curiously, Henry remained out of sight of the camera, leaning against the wall by the stairs. Isabella didn't say anything, she just bowed her head respectfully. She had noticed that Aro hadn't even cracked a smile at Eliza's greeting which was very rare for him.

Aro's voice was brisk and business-like. "Good, you're both there. We have some serious business to discuss. But first who is this?"

Isabella nodded in agreement. "Someone I wanted to discuss with you. A lot has happened this evening, and we... "

Aro cut her off, shaking his head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. There is another topic I wish to discuss first."

Isabella raised her eyebrow curiously and crossed her arms, waiting for him to elaborate.

Aro's eyes fixed on Isabella, and his tone turned mildly accusatory, "It seems you have been less than forthcoming with us." Isabella just raised an eyebrow in response, but didn't say anything, allowing him to continue. "When you brought us this… alliance with your wolf shifters, we were all understandably wary of the idea, but we allowed it. However, you neglected to give us all the specifics. I refer of course to your daughter's... situation."

Isabella kept her tone just as mild, but her eyes were cautious now. "What situation would that be?"

"This… relationship between Eliza and one of the shifters." Aro replied a very obvious note of disgust in his voice.

Eliza's jaw dropped, she was speechless as she turned her head slightly to glance worriedly at her mother. Then she shifted her gaze towards Henry who was shaking his head and waving his arms off camera trying to emphatically explain that he wasn't the one that had shared the damning information with the Volturi.

"I fail to see how that's a situation of any sort, less of one that should concern you." Isabella said, her jaw tightened for only a moment, her mind racing through possibilities, wondering who might have told them. From Henry's non-vocal anger and wild gesticulations it was clearly not him. She nodded very slightly in understanding and acknowledgement, telling him she believed him. Then she shifted her eyes up the stairs; wordlessly telling him it might be best to leave than get drawn into this disagreement by Aro. She wished she could do the same with Bree, this had nothing to do with her.

"Come, come." Aro's tone was one of recrimination. "You know very well that any sort of intermingling between species is against our laws."

Eliza watched Henry nod in wordless acknowledgement to her mother and head up the stairs quietly. Then she turned to Aro. "We haven't even done anything yet! And we're both girls!" Eliza spoke up without thinking, and flinched realizing her mistake. A look of embarrassment crossed over her immediately, but in another bout of incredulous defiance she plowed on. "I don't see what the big deal is."

Caius spoke up in a smug, almost taunting voice. "The big deal is that their kind has been attacking us, their kind has had a hand in the destruction of four covens, their kind are one step away from the plague we've vowed to stop at all costs. We cannot tolerate a threat like this, let alone fraternization with a creature that we should never even associate with. Whatever this imprint is, it is not allowed of any vampire, much less a Volturi."

"My daughter's personal life is none of the Volturi Council's business. She is not harming anyone." Isabella stated, her voice firm.

Aro held up his hand to calm Caius, not wanting him get too worked up yet. "Unfortunately daughter, Caius is correct. No matter his choice of words, we allowed this alliance against our better judgment. Further, based on your last report and recent developments, the wolf shifters do present a significant threat to us. A personal relationship goes far beyond that, it could easily lead to exposed secrets which may expose a potential vulnerability."

"Expose us? Secrets? The shifters were born..." Eliza began to protest, but her rant was cut off when Isabella's voice thundered in her mind. _**"Eliza, be quiet. They hear one word of evolution or being born to kill our kind and it's over. We need to be smart here, and indignant remarks are just going to make things worse than they already are. Let me try and handle this."**_ Isabella had to suppress the urge to give her a harsh look, showing her frustration outwardly, but she was worried that even that small gesture might be enough to make the situation spin out of control.

Eliza snapped her mouth closed, and tried not to react. She had been scolded before for her sense of humor and occasionally disrespectful attitude, this was different. She could tell from her mother's tone just how serious the stakes were, and how much was on the line. Isabella rarely ever said "try", and the idea that she wasn't certain if she could handle Aro struck Eliza more deeply than anything else.

"Any relationship has the potential for careless trust or willful manipulation. We have no way to confirm the motivations of these wolf shifters, so it is very conceivable that they have an agenda to use your daughter to discover any vulnerabilities or weak points we may have." Aro replied.

"They have not been a threat to us. Quite the opposite in fact, they've helped us a great deal." Isabella replied, modulating her voice to create the illusion of control and calm.

"Yes, Eliza mentioned that when she called. However, now that we have confirmation that these kind of wolf shifters are located throughout the world, as part of this global scheme you mentioned. We realize now that their mere existence is a far bigger problem than we originally imagined." Aro stated calmly.

Isabella nodded agreeably. "Yes, and we've made the first steps toward unraveling this mystery, you see.."

Aro shook his head again cutting off Isabella's reply. "No! What we see is that we've ignored a dangerous species for too long. Whether you were ignorant of the danger they present is something we are willing to overlook though." Isabella didn't like sound of that, she let a bit of her frustration show on her face. Aro smiled widely. "We are calling a hunt. All Volturi are now to consider all shifters wolf or otherwise a threat to our continued existence. From this point forward all Volturi will be expected to kill any confirmed shifter without hesitation or exception."

"What of the Quileutes? We have an alliance with them." Isabella asked, her voice still calm, though the seething anger Eliza could feel through their connection made her worried that her mother might not be able to continue things civilly.

"The Quileute alliance is hereby terminated. We will be dispatching a dozen of our reserve guard to your location. They will assist you in the elimination of the pack." Aro stated with casual indifference, although it was clearly a bait. "You will evaluate the performance of the twelve guard, to determine whether any of them are worthy of permanent status." He continued as if the matter had been closed.

Isabella closed her eyes slowly, and there was silence from both sides of the connection. Eliza watched her mother, but kept her mouth shut despite wanting to say a ton of things that kept popping into mind. Bree huddled close to Eliza, fear radiating off of her. The eyes of two of the three council members seemed to be focused on Isabella as well. Marcus was staring at Bree, his face strangely curious.

"No." Isabella opened her eyes to look at the screen and shook her head. "We allied with them. On my honor and status as a Volturi. I created the alliance. I will not betray it." Aro's face feel in an exaggerated way, Caius smiled somehow even more smugly, but Marcus seemed genuinely upset about something and turned to look at something off screen.

Caius voice was sharp, but there was an air of condescension in it and withering contempt made him sound like a snake hissing out his reply instead of speaking it. "Are you refusing a direct order from the Council?"

Isabella's voice was calm, "Not at all, I'm refusing to abandon an alliance made in my name. An Alliance that speaks to the integrity and honor of our coven. To turn around and attack them, would be to betray everything you have taught me to stand for. I'm asking that you listen to reason, I am absolutely confident that given the change you'll find that they can help u..."

Aro's voice was deathly quiet, all humor and lightness gone, when he interrupted again. "You are defying our orders. No matter how you try to frame it ideologically. There is no debate here. You know there is only one punishment for defiance. Are you ready to condemn both you and your daughter, for creatures that will very likely betray you? Now, I'm asking you again. Will you abide by the council's decision?"

Isabella looked at the monitor for several long seconds before she turned to meet Eliza's violet eyes. Eliza's met her mother's red eyes, and without words she agreed wholeheartedly. She looked down to Bree who didn't entirely seem to understand what was going on, but also sent an acknowledgement that she preferred to stand up for the shifters rather than let them get slaughtered. Isabella turned back to the screen. She squared her shoulders and met Aro's impatient gaze across the thousands of miles that separated them.

"No." She didn't need to elaborate further, it was clear that no argument could be made in their defense.

"Well then, know that this brings me no pleasure my daughter, but I'm afraid you leave us no choice." Aro said pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and proceeded to quickly dial numbers. Caius grinned expectantly, and Isabella's brow furrowed in confusion. A sense of dread beginning to seep into her stomach.

Isabella watched Aro dial with a frown, she turned her head to meet her daughter's equally confused gaze for just a moment. Their last shared thought was a question, who could Aro possibly be calling… and then the house exploded around them.

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**Author's notes: The End!**

**No Really!**

**Nothing more to see here!**

**Credit's rolling**

***laughs* No of course that's not the end**

**We have alot of stuff planned. The question is "Who will survive?" CLIFFHANGER! DUN DUN DUN DUN! Honestly if I were writing this as a book. This would be where the first one ended. Just so you know when people start saying this story is getting super duper long!**

**2) Thank you to Samantha Minuet who wrote the entire Edward section. Creepy. I know. But i wanted to establish once and for all that he's a selfish bastard. Redemption for him? UNLIKELY. She really is taking the part of "Co-Author" And i'm so thankful for it! I just had a really impossible time fitting my head into a personality that warped and self-centered. But I wanted something with a bit of poetry as well, she did awesome.**

**3) I really expected that people would hit her power on the head. It will be revealed in the next chapter O_O sort of. I will admit here and now to stealing some of the idea from Vampire the Masquerade. So maybe that hint will help those of you who are still looking. It's NOT the cloaking (that's Eliza's) and it's not the mental block. (that's already in there). It's something else!**

**4) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author Note: Cliffy... I'm so sorry, story's over folks I hope you all liked it. So did you like how they all died and... *falls over laughing* sorry couldn't keep a straight face. I won't say how things play moving forward, but I think Kathryn is awesome and the next couple of chapters are total game changers. Can't wait until next week to share it all with you guys!**

**5) Updates may be slightly slower going forward because we're getting closer and closer to what i have written. But i'm still going for twice a week. **

**6) It's been a couple of action packed chapters. I'll bring the focus back to some romances soon. **

**PLEASE Read and Review! We read all of the reviews and we invite constructive criticisms!**

**Next Chapter- Death**


	34. Shadows and Whispers

**Chapter 34**

_**"I touch the fire and it freezes me, I look into it and it's black.**_

_**Why can't I feel? **_

_**My skin should crack and peel, I want the fire back.**_

_**Now through the smoke she calls to me, to make my way across the flames.**_

_**To save the day, or maybe melt away... I guess it's all the same.**_

_**So I will walk through the fire, 'Cause where else can I turn?'**_

_**And I will walk through the fire and let it… burn."**_

Although she couldn't see how soon that fateful call would take place, a terrible urgency filled Alice with impending dread as she closed in on the house. She opened her mouth and shouted as loud as she could, her cry of desperation escaping her panicked throat before she had even cleared the forest.

"ISABELLLA!" She didn't sound human, her vampiric voice shattering the relatively peaceful scene, the grass even bent a little from the force of her cry.

She burst into the clearing, a large stretch of grass separated her from the loose stone gravel of the wrap around driveway leading to the garage. She would've normally admired the structure, the nice lines and good use of materials, but not when so much was on the line.

She noted in the periphery of her vision, a group of Jacob's pack were milling about, but they didn't matter. Only Isabella mattered.

When she was twenty yards away something changed in the air. A split second later the house suddenly exploded. A man who had just appeared at the front door vanished in a ball of fire that bloomed up from below, and out through the open door. Then came a wave of force so intense that it blew her into the air. She flailed in a vain attempt to hold onto her beloved as the ground fell away. Then she landed with a heavy thud thirty yards away in a ditch full of mud, pine needles, and rotting leaves.

The concussive force of the blast was still ringing in Alice's ears as she tumbled awkwardly to her feet again, and propelled herself back towards the house. Only when she cleared the lip of the ditch, she was shocked to discover that most of the structure was gone. The second floor and attic were completely gone, and what remained of the first floor was engulfed in a tower of fire that roared like a thousand angry lions, and belched out enough thick black smoke that it threatened to blot out the sun.

Alice stared wide eyed at the undulating pyre, hoping against hope that Isabella wasn't in there. Then she scanned the area around the house for any sign of her. Her search was cut short by Leah, who started running towards the house in a blind scramble to get to her own beloved.

"ELIZA!" Leah screamed over the lashing and cackling flames, smoke stinging her tear laden eyes, and blackening her tear stained cheeks. Her voice tainted with the same kind of desperation that Alice felt herself.

Foolishly, Leah tried to push closer to the house, but the heat was far too intense, and the smoke seeped into her lungs causing her to choke and cough. Rachel wrapped her arms around Leah and tried to force her back, but she was so insistent on walking into the fire that a still weakened Paul had to help hold her back. Eventually they dragged her far enough away that Leah gave up, falling to the ground utterly defeated.

"No, please! Eliza!" Alice could barely make out Leah's tortured voice, but the words echoed her own despairing wail. "No, please...Eliza you can't be gone... "

Alice stared in shock, Leah's words confirming her worst fears, because if Eliza was in the explosion than so was Isabella. She sank to her knees as a wave of inconsolable grief washed over her. She couldn't move, she could only watch the house burn. The fire consuming everything left in her soul. She just begun to dare to hope again, for the first time in decades… only to lose her again. Forever.

Why did she leave her side, she wasn't fast enough. Alice let the flames burn into her eyes, searing the image into her mind. She wasn't sure she could fight the rising temptation to jump in and join Isabella in the afterlife. The blinding light of the flames even began to dim as despair set in, shadows dancing through the smoke and ash that was falling like snow.

Then something cold spread out from the flames, extinguishing them as if a giant hand had snuffed them out. The cold was followed by a loud crash, which sounded almost like a secondary explosion. The crash was soon joined by a deafening high pitched scream. A scream that sent the shadows into a flurry of chaos, writhing around like arms reaching out desperately to escape the abyss. It was a scream of rage, fear, and an agony that pierced the air like an arrow.

From the wisps of smoke and smoldering debris, a mass of three figures rose up as if they were lifted into the air by a thousand invisible strings. Everyone looked up, their eyes wide with shock and awe.

Eliza and Bree hung in the air, loosely cradled in a set of massive translucent black wing-like shapes jutting out from Isabella's back. Their arms and legs dangled limply from what looked almost like amorphous hands, either unconscious or lifeless Alice couldn't tell. A pure darkness radiated out from Isabella, crackling in a kind of negative energy that seemed to pull in all the light Alice could see in seemingly random pulses. The sphere that extended from her seemed to be almost alive, as it moved and shifted with tendrils that were no longer discernible arms but had become malformed and monstrous, snapping and lashing around aggressively.

As the figures floated closer to the ground, Leah could see that Eliza was badly hurt, covered in third degree burns over half of her face and on both arms. Bree's looked like she had fared much better, with some minor burns on her arms and legs. Most of their clothes were gone, and their skin had split in places. Isabella set them both down, as the waves of darkness around Eliza and Bree dissipated.

Then Isabella collapsed between them. Although it was nearly impossible to be entirely certain it was her. She was unrecognizable, her clothes were gone and only a small patch of chest between her breasts remained un-charred. Large portions of her flesh and muscle was gone, leaving section of her skeleton exposed. Her head and back were the worst, and her arms had tatters of blackened muscle and skin draping off them like tassels from a grotesquely bad country-western outfit.

Shadows of impenetrable black billowed out from her still. Even though she wasn't much more than a skeleton, she was still screaming somehow, a horrible echoing banshee cry filling the night like a terrible nightmare. Then the darkness still surrounding her seemed to surge wildly for just a moment before her voice suddenly stopped, and the last of the living shadows vanished.

Light flooded back into the world, but Alice barely registered it. She could only stare at the body lying in front of her, the bones of her beloved. Not even her face remained. All that she could see were two empty sockets where her beautiful eyes used to be.

Alice wasn't sure if she had just seen a phoenix born from the ashes of their home. Or some kind demonic angel, carrying her daughters on wings breathed from shadow. She did know that it was Isabella, the way she protected Eliza and Bree confirmed that. She moved over to her quickly, ignoring the glacial cold radiating from her bones as she pulled her up into her arms. Careful not to lose any part of her from a careless motion. Smoke still curled off her body, and no sign of life rattled beneath her ruined flesh, until Alice was clutching her closely and Isabella's oddly frigid body seemed to settle closer to her in an almost imperceptible shift. It was just enough to keep Alice's hope alive.

Leah went to Eliza, and Seth went over to Bree who stirred almost immediately, and began to look around groggily. Alice didn't waste any more time, she stood and started towards her house with barely a word thrown back to the wolves to follow her. Not that either of them argued. If she had been paying attention to any of them she would've known from their expressions, they all thought Isabella was dead.

As she ran them away from the smoking ruins of the house, she didn't go full speed, not wanting to jostle Isabella too much, and partially because she didn't want to separate from the Quileute's who had to keep pace in their human forms. Alice wasn't about to leave Isabella's daughter's behind, they needed to stay close no matter how much the slowness of the wolves drove her a little mad.

Alice couldn't help letting her eyes move over her body as she ran, and every inch of damage made her heart hurt. If by some miracle she survived, Isabella would never heal. Vampires who lost limbs, or even their heads, could be put back together if the pieces were reassembled. However, when parts of a vampire are destroyed by fire, there was no regeneration. The damage was permanent.

If somehow Isabella survived, she would be permanently and horribly disfigured, and Alice didn't care.

The loss of Isabella's beauty didn't even register as important, even though it was a traumatic blow. She would love her no matter what, she wouldn't abandon her even if she rejected her. With her help maybe Isabella could survive this. Alice wasn't going to give her up, not when she just got her back.

They arrived at the Cullen's house like an elephant crashing into a glass house. The stares of shock as Alice kicked in the back door without warning or preamble, carrying the charred remains of Isabella through the living room past everyone gathered. She was about to set her down, ignoring the bouts of panicked shouting, when she changed her mind and decided to take her up the back stairs to Carlisle's office rather than leave her out on display for everyone to gawk at.

"What in god's name happened?" Carlisle asked as he followed Alice up to his office, Leah right on his heels carrying Eliza who was still unconscious. Then Seth was right behind her, carrying Bree who was curled up and looking a little ashamed that she needed to be carried. Esme, Eleazar, Rosalie and Tanya were all hot on his heels.

Alice set Isabella's body on the couch where Bree had been just few days before. She crouched down trying to will Isabella to respond, but the body just lay there. She wrapped her hand carefully around one of her skeletal hands, wincing at the pain she might be causing her.

Leah saved her from having to answer by speaking up first, after laying Eliza down on the chair. "Their house blew up."

"What?" Carlisle was already crouched down next to Eliza to examine her. Eliza's heavy burns were a bit worse than Alice originally realized. Although they were focused mostly on one side of her body, they were full thickness and in several places, large cracks split the black to reveal a glossy red underneath. The burns started at the top of her head and stretched all the way down her legs. Leah, in an attempt to comfort her, was hovering on her untouched side, caressing her forehead with a look of total helplessness. Esme took one look at the injuries left the room without a word.

"Are they going to be okay?" Bree began to push at Seth's chest to stand on her own two feet, her voice wavered on the verge of full blown panic as she stared unblinking at her newly adopted family. Alice sort of noticed when she finally managed to push away from Seth to fall on her knees next to Leah.

Carlisle had stopped examining Eliza and was now looking at Isabella. Alice hadn't seen that look on his very often, he was at a complete loss for words. He gently checked her as best he could, but it was clear to her that he had never seen any vampire in such bad shape before.

"I… don't know. They're going to need as much blood as possible." Alice watched as Carlisle stood and left the room. She guessed he was going to get blood from the hospital, and she wasn't sure if she cared if they noticed the large quantities missing. Preserving a life in Forks was secondary to bringing back Isabella.

Bree let out a small sob, "It should've been me!" She threw herself onto her side, curled up, and started whimpering. "I should've protected..." A set of arms wrapped around the girl, and pull her into a tight motherly embrace. Everyone conscious was shocked to see that Rosalie was the owner of those arms. Even through the haze of Alice's despair, she felt a little bit of shock at Rosalie's sudden inexplicable compassion. She started murmuring comforting words into the girl's ear, trying to ease her survivor's guilt. No one really noticed Seth stiffen when Rose grabbed Bree, he had tensed as if he wanted to do something but he couldn't figure what to do.

Bree didn't hold back, sobbing tearlessly into Rosalie's shoulder. Esme came back into the room carrying four bags of blood. They were from the emergency stores that Carlisle had kept out of habit ever since Bella had entered their lives all those years ago.

"Bree do you need one yet, or can you wait for little while?" Esme asked softly, Bree looked up with an expression that was unmistakable to everyone, even Alice, that her injuries were not a priority. Without another second of hesitation Esme tossed two bags to Alice, and the other two to Leah. Alice immediately pried Isabella's mouth open and ripped off the feed plug, pouring the contents in a steady stream down Isabella's practically fleshless throat.

Alice saw Esme crouch down next to Leah who seemed a bit lost with the blood bags, and asked her to open Eliza's mouth so she could feed her properly. Alice sighed a little bit in relief when Isabella accepted the blood without choking or spiting it back up, neither was it just pooling in her mouth. Even if she didn't notice any sort of change in Isabella's consciousness level, it was a sign that she was at least alive. Alice finished feeding her the first bag, tossing it aside carelessly before ripping open the second one and almost squeezing it down Isabella's throat.

Rosalie was still attempting to calm Bree down enough to talk, she only kept wailing again and again, "My fault, should've protected them, my fault, should've been me." Rosalie's attempts to reassure her were getting nowhere, when Bree suddenly stiffened up and whirled her head towards Eliza.

_**"I'm alive, stop. It's okay... I'm fine... Or I will be... Don't mention the Volturi."**_ Eliza managed to finally relate through the connection, it was more than she wanted to commit to, her focus was almost entirely on the silence where her mother should've been.

"_**It's my fault though, I should've protected you!" **_Bree replied plaintively.

_**"No! It was our job to protect you. Look I'm fading quickly, I need to heal... just promise to keep quiet about the Volturi, please." **_Eliza used the last of the strength she got from the blood to respond, before slipping back into her own regeneration coma. Bree wanted to respond, but felt a strange sense of patience and hope from just knowing that Eliza was going to be alright.

"I promise." Bree said, standing up and disentangling herself from Rosalie, before moving over to Eliza. She blinked back the sting of absent tears and leaned forward to kiss her new sister on the forehead. "Come back to me, I need you."

Everyone stared at her curiously, questions held at the tips of their tongues. Bree just turned and sat next to Alice, staring at Isabella with an intensity that made everyone a little uncomfortable. Alice stared at the girl for a long moment, desperate to ask what had just happened and whether she knew if Isabella was going to wake up.

Then everyone's attention was drawn as Eliza shifted slightly on her own merit as the last of her second blood bag disappeared down her throat. It was a brief distraction though, because she didn't open her eyes or make any other sign that she was regaining consciousness.

Bree shifted slightly and though still focused on Isabella, she nodded slowly absorbing the room's curiosity. "Sorry… Eliza shielded my body with hers, and… Mother shielded both of us with hers." There were more than a few raised eyebrows in response to her comment, but no one spoke.

Alice almost managed a slight smile when Bree lifted her chin, openly defying everyone in the room to question the validity of her statement or her stated relationship with the two unconscious women. With her chin still lifted she continued, "Eliza says that she'll be okay in a while, when she heals up."

Alice turned to give Bree her full attention, but it was Leah that spoke first. "You can still hear her?"

Alice watched Bree nod, until she realized that everyone's attention was suddenly trained on her, so she began to shrink back into herself a little. Rosalie moved over to offer the same comfort as before, and Bree accepted her without complaint.

"She's real quiet now, like she's sleeping or something." Bree said clearly unsure of how to explain things properly.

Alice immediately spoke up, "Can you hear Isabella?" her voice weak and trembling, her plea coming out with more desperation than she had wanted to reveal.

"I've been trying, but she's... it's not like Eliza I can't feel anything from her." Alice watched Bree frown as she looked back towards Isabella with that same intense concentration. Bree shook her head slowly. "I... I can't tell... I... I don't know. I'm sorry." Bree broke her stare at Isabella and looked down with a discouraged look on her face.

Alice turned to look back at Isabella feeling the last shred of hope disappear, and couldn't help sinking into a pit despair even deeper than the one she had fallen into the first time she'd lost her.

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Alice kept up her vigil as time passed. She sat perfectly still, hardly aware of anything beyond her constant focus on Isabella. Sometime later, maybe minutes, probably hours, Carlisle brought blood. She fed Isabella mechanically, even though he had tried to talk to her at some point, she barely even acknowledged his existence. She heard shouting and anger at one point, but it was all so far away.

Alice still wasn't aware of time and had no idea how much had passed, a day… maybe two, before Alice began to notice slight changes. Isabella's body seemed to be repairing itself, but the repairs were microscopic at first. Still, muscle was definitely returning to bone, which had slowly changed from black to white again. The muscles inched up those renewed bones like snakes, slithering towards prey. At first Alice thought she was hallucinating the changes, fooling herself into believing that it was actually happening. Then after a while it was undeniable, especially when the skin on her face started to reform layer by layer, until her alabaster skin was whole again. She held off for a long time, but as soon as she was certain, she let the hope for recovery sink in for the first time and called out frantically for Carlisle.

He rushed up from downstairs, and gasped before leaning in to examine Isabella closely. His expression was absolutely baffled at the level of regeneration. He started to open his mouth to express his confused opinion when something else drew their attention.

"M…ther…se" Eliza groaned loudly and seemed to shudder.

"Eliza's waking up!" Bree said excitedly. Alice hadn't even been aware anyone else was in the room. Most weren't focused on Isabella though, Alice guessed it was because no one wanted to see that level of horrific damage.

Alice was glad that Eliza was awake, Isabella would need her when she finally woke up. She sighed once, before turning back to Isabella. She was beautiful again, her face looked almost untouched even though that was the only part of her that had really recovered. She smiled and caressed her cheek without thinking, before pulling her hand away self-consciously.

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More time passed. Alice knew this time it was days, not that time mattered. She was captivated watching the slow but steady regeneration of Isabella's body. As more of her skin replaced itself, Alice forced herself to leave her side once to go get some clothing to preserve Isabella's modesty. She returned with shorts and a tanktop, taking care dress her to quickly and efficiently, but with an eye on her remaining injuries.

She wasn't alone in her vigil. Carlisle was there most of the time consumed by fascination and wonder. The more Isabella healed the better Alice felt, until her body showed no signs of damage at all and even her hair had grown back to its full length. That's when she noticed that Carlisle kept repeating 'remarkable' and 'unbelievable', obnoxiously overusing the words in his awed bewilderment.

He wasn't the only one sitting next to her. From the moment Eliza woke up, she refused to leave the her mother's side, refused to shower, refused to change into anything but a pair of jeans and a shirt that Leah provided. She barely spoke at all, except for a few murmured conversations with Leah each time she stopped to visit. Eliza didn't really react much to their short conversations, but she seemed pleased that Leah understood her needs without having to explain them. The entire time by her mother's side, Eliza had the same level of concentration on her face that Bree had on hers when she was trying to re-establish the connection to Isabella. That more than anything else worried Alice.

Others seemed to come and go. Bree visited every few hours but seemed too antsy and nervous to stick around for long, especially once Eliza was up. Alice couldn't blame her, since she was still basically a newborn, being able to sit down for long periods wasn't going to be one of her strong suits.

After a long time Alice and Eliza were alone with Isabella. Carlisle was out talking to the family, Leah was with the pack on patrol around the property, and Bree was off with Rosalie doing something to distract her. Eliza turned to look at Alice and murmured quietly. "Are they coming for us yet?"

Alice turned and looked at Eliza for a long moment before closing her eyes and reaching out with her vision. She knew what Eliza wanted. It was several minutes later before Alice opened her eyes again and looked at Eliza.

"They'll be here Saturday. They're not after you though, they're after the wolves. They think you're dead. They've made some side trips to check on other 'disturbances' and 'uprisings' as well, so I guess Joham is still causing trouble too." Alice answered her inquiry honestly, she made sure to check Aro's future closely while she did so she hoped for no more surprises.

Eliza nodded a little bit and then turned her attention back to her mother. Alice, thinking the conversation was over turned back to look at Isabella as well, before Eliza's voice intruded again.

"How long?" Eliza asked.

Alice tilted her head curiously, but didn't bother looking over at Eliza, "How long what?"

"How long have you been in love with her?" Eliza asked, her voice remaining quiet but her tone was demanding an answer.

"I've loved her since before I met her. Before I first laid eyes on her." Alice replied without taking her eyes off of Isabella's unmoving frame.

"Then why…?" Eliza asked but let the question trail off.

"Because I made a mistake, I made a stupid assumption about Edward. It's something I'll never let happen again." Alice answered honestly.

"If you hurt her like that again, I'll kill you." Eliza said. Her tone wasn't playful, nor was it aggressive, it was more a statement of simple fact rather than a threat. Based on her tone she could have been commenting on the weather.

"I know. If she comes out of this, I'll never hurt her. Never again. I'd rather die than cause her more pain." Alice responded so quietly that even Eliza could barely make out her words. "I don't know if she'll recover though, I can't help thinking that she's going to die." Alice added in a whisper... obviously afraid to speak too loudly and force fate's hand.

"Mom will come out of this. She's not going to leave me alone. Not when I still need her, while Bree still needs her." She looked over at Alice finally before continuing, "She won't leave us, because she has something to live for." Eliza's sounded resolute. She wasn't speaking in empty platitudes, she didn't sound hopeful or wishful, it was as if she were stating an indisputable fact.

Alice nodded slowly, her attention still riveted on Isabella, waiting for any twitch, any sign. "Please… Isabella. I can't lose you again. Please… please come back to me."

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"_**Wh.. god..?"**_

"_**T.. hou.. blew.."**_

"_**.. they.. go.. okay?"**_

"_**I… need.. blood.. as poss.." **_

"_**It should've been me... I should've protected..." **_

The indistinct voices floated whisper soft through Isabella's senses. Isabella's eyes snapped open, and she sat up, looking around. She had been leaning against the trunk of a tree and woke to the sounds of a strange forest around her. It was night time, and the sounds of wildlife were springing up everywhere. She looked down to find herself clad in a pair of blue jeans, and a plain grey tee-shirt. Isabella groggily tried to piece together where she was, and how she had gotten there.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep the night away." A pleasant female voice said.

Isabella slowly stood up, looking around to find the source of the voice. It took her several seconds to realize the voice came from the tree above her. Isabella looked up and saw a figure sitting on a large thick branch directly above her. All she could see of the figure, was her black jeans and black boots that were dangling from the branch and swinging gently back and forth. Isabella took several steps backward to get a better angle, curious who this mysterious stranger was.

Curiosity, what was odd she was never really curious about anything anymore.

Isabella found that the voice belonged to a girl, her view was of her left profile and she looked to be approximately the same age as Isabella, at least superficially. She had very dark black hair, that fell thick and lush below her shoulders. The black jeans and boots were topped with a black spaghetti strap shirt, which showed ample amounts of the girl's very pale nearly chalk white skin. In her black gloved hands, she held a thick book, that she seemed to be paging through slowly.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Isabella half asked, half demanded, trying to get the feeling of fuzziness out of her head. Though she was surprised that her voice wasn't filled with her usual anger.

The girl sighed a little bit and snapped the book she was reading shut with a thud, muttering under her breath. "Never liked how it finished anyway. Always thought Harry should've ended up with Hermione. Ron's such a twit." The girl sighed again and looked up into the grey sky for a moment.

Then she turned to face Isabella and hopped off the branch to land a few feet away. She smiled pleasantly and held out her free hand in greeting. "Well, in answer to the where, I would say that you're here for now. As to my identity, how about you just call me... Dee, for now at least." Her pitch black eyes had no irises, but somehow they didn't seem creepy as Isabella met her gaze.

Now that Isabella had a better look at this odd girl, she was a little taken aback by the fact she was easily one of the most beautiful people she'd ever seen. Her almost ethereal appearance confirmed what Isabella suspected, that Dee wasn't human. Her pale skin, the grace and ease with which she moved, on top of her inhuman beauty was a dead giveaway. She was very slender, almost waifish. At the corner of her right eye, she had a small tattoo that looked like a spiral. Around her neck, she wore a large silver Ankh. She had an odd, but friendly smile on her face as Isabella refused the greeting.

_**"M..ther… se"**_

_**"Eliza's waking up!" **_

The voices echoed around indistinctly for several moments before fading. As soon as her head began to clear, she tried to reach out through her link to Eliza. She was met with silence, but the chaotic and frightened emotions coming from both Eliza and Bree drove her into a slight frenzy.

"Where is here!? Where are my daughters!?" Isabella narrowed her eyes. She could feel them; their fear, worry, and the pain Eliza felt as she mended the last of her wounds, but it was all strangely muffled.

"Bree is being cared for, and Eliza is fine, or rather she will be." Dee responded with a comforting smile, without any hint of malice or deception in her voice. "Do you remember what happened?"

Isabella frowned slowly as the memories trickled in slowly for a few moments, and then everything came back in a rush. "We were… talking to Aro, and then he called someone… and…" Isabella faltered a little bit as her eyes widened. "and then….fire?"

Dee nodded slowly her tone one of encouragement, "That's right."

"But… why… how did…. who told him about…" Isabella started to ask before she could stop herself, the questions welling up all at once before trailing off in the least subtle way possible. She didn't want to give anything further away to this stranger.

_**"I'm so glad you're okay."**_

_**"I'm not... not until Mom…"**_

_**"She's looking better. Her body is repairing itself." **_

_**"I'm not just worried about her body" **_

Isabella looked around, the voices were slightly more distinct now, but before she could ask about them, Dee caught her attention.

"Eliza and Leah? I know! They're sickeningly cute." Dee giggled and rocked forward on her toes a little bit. Then she sobered up, and an almost sad expression crossed her face. "Fate did good with that match up."

"How do you know about that? Who _are _you?" Isabella frowned. Somehow the first time her daughter had any sort of private life, it had become public knowledge. That didn't sit well with her. "You're not one of the Volturi, nor from any other vampire coven I've ever come across."

_**"Are they coming for us yet?" **_

_**"They'll be here Saturday..." **_

Dee's somber mood seemed to pass like quicksilver as she laughed, as if Isabella had told a great joke. "No... I'm not part of any coven, and I know a lot of things."

Her evasive non-answers irritated Isabella more than the news that the Volturi were on their way. So she decided to switch tacks and go with some of her other questions. "Well then, are you the one that told Aro about everything?" Her voice held a challenge and her anger began to return to her like a security blanket. Her fists clenched. If Dee had been the one to inform on them over something that small, especially if she'd hoped to hurt Eliza, Isabella would end her right there.

Dee actually laughed and shook her head. "No, I did no such thing." Once again her voice rang with such truth that even Isabella couldn't doubt her.

"Then who!?" Isabella demanded, her face contorting into a scowl and her voice almost coming out as a furious yell.

Dee hesitated a moment, her face going strangely blank. "I can't tell you that." She paused and then cocked her head with a slight smile, "I can tell you, that you have all the information you need to figure it out."

"Are you purposefully going for the mysterious angle here?" Isabella sighed with irritation,

_**"How long?"**_

Isabella looked around sharply, trying to determine the genesis of the voices. They were barely whispers, as faint as if they had been carried in on the wind from a great distance "Where are those voices coming from?"

Dee shook her head a little bit, "They're..." She smirked slightly, "The are telling me that our time is limited, but not over yet. Do you recognize where you are?"

Isabella looked around, and then frowned in annoyance. "I already asked that question. You didn't give me a straight answer."

Dee didn't look abashed in the slightest, but she nodded, "That's true! Come with me!" Without waiting for a response, she took off into the darkness.

_**"I've loved her since before I met her."**_

Isabella hesitated and followed her cautiously, and then faster needing to keep pace with Dee's incredible speed, she noted that her body felt oddly stiff as she moved. However the run was a short one, over almost as soon as they started. Dee came to a stop next to a seemingly random tree and leaned against it casually, she pointed down to the ground in front of her.

Isabella looked to where Dee was pointing and her jaw dropped. There, on the ground curled up in a ball on her side lay... a form that was unmistakably her, only human.

She sank to her knees and reached out to the unmoving girl only to have her hands pass right through her. "What… I don't understand." Yet even as the words left Isabella's mouth, she did understand. She remembered this night so long ago. She looked up at Dee. "My past... am I dead?"

Dee chuckled softly, "No, not yet, but I have to hand it to you sweetheart. I've seen more than one close call… but I believe you've set a new record. I can honestly say I've never seen anyone come that close without crossing the line before."

"Why did you bring me here?" Isabella asked with a scowl, her heart lurching at the emptiness she saw reflected on her own face. She knew that pain intimately, she'd lived through it when Edward had left her in this forest. Alone, helpless. She shuddered a little bit, in many ways it was like looking in a mirror. She wore that same look nearly a century later.

Dee shrugged a little bit, "I didn't bring us here. You did. In some ways a part of you has never really left this place."

_**"...hurt her like that again, I'll kill..."**_

_**"If she comes out of this..."**_

_**"...she's going to die." **_

Isabella frowned at Dee for several long seconds, "Wait… if I'm… are you…." looking skeptical.

Dee sighed and rolled her eyes, putting her hand on her hip. "Go ahead and say it."

"Aren't you supposed to be some cloaked skeletal guy that carries around a giant scythe?" Isabella blurted out.

Dee rolled her eyes. "Me skeletal, you... oh never mind. I swear, I go to ONE fucking Halloween party dressed like that, and that's the image Morpheus starts sticking in everyone's nightmares. His version of revenge because I said his cake tasted like sugary dirt."

Isabella blinked, not quite sure how to respond to that.

_**"She won't leave us, because she has something to live for."**_

Though they were still faint like whispers, the voices came through much more clearly this time. Isabella blinked as she realized a fog was beginning to roll in, drifting through the woods, obscuring the trees one by one, creating the illusion that they were disappearing into a grey nothingness.

"Any other questions?" Death asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Am I dreaming this?" Isabella frowned.

"Does it really matter?" Death looked thoughtful for a moment and shrugged, her face turning serious. "One thing before you go. I have watched you for years. I was there at your birth. I was there at… your rebirth... Both times. You have only now begun to heal. You cannot face what is to come if you aren't whole. And you're not. The pieces must be reassembled. There are such powers at play here that I have been forced to take an active hand in things once more. I have a vested interest in you. Represent me well."

Isabella frowned in confusion as the forest seemed to become more and more indistinct, even Dee seemed to becoming more and more hazy. "Wait, what are you talking about? Represent you how?" Her confusion only deepening. The space between them seemed to fill with fog, completely obscuring Isabella's view of Death. The voices on the air were becoming more and more distinct, as the world around her seemed to fade more and more.

_**"Mother, please don't leave me." **_Eliza finally broke through the connection.

_**"Mom, please… we both need you" **_Bree added emphatically.

_**"Please… Isabella. I can't lose you again. Please… please come back to me." **_The last voice seemed further away than the other two, but at the same time it rung deeply in Isabella's soul and exerted a pull even stronger than the pleas of her daughters. She couldn't fathom who could exert more influence on her than Eliza and Bree, except maybe... no she couldn't accept that.

Dee's voice came one final time. "Remember well Isabella, the song never changes, only the players. Death and Fate are like two dancers spinning endlessly across an infinite stage, moving to the same melody... forever inseparable, forever intertwined. If you don't embrace your Fate, you'll be dooming yourself and the world to a destiny far worse than death, where you will dwell in shadow and darkness forever..."

Then the thick grey fog engulfed her completely.

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**Author's note: DISCLAIMER: O_O I totally used Neil Gaiman's version of DEATH. I don't own it or have rights to it! Just like i don't own twilight :P**

**1) Wooohooo! Alot of people were kinda miffed at the whole cliffhanger thing! So I hope this helped! **

**2) I originally wrote a totally separate direction at this point in the story. I originally wrote that when Aro initially dialed the phone. Nothing happened. Then he tried again, and nothing happened. (Eliza was going to crack a joke. "Can you hear me now?" or "Wow. let me guess, AT&T?" Then Henry stepped forward with. "Um. Sorry... personal quirk. I don't much enjoy sleeping surrounded by C4. So I took all that of it out and buried it" **

**From there it became a different disagreement with the Volturi. This was really the first significant FORK in the story that was directly influenced by Samantha Minuet. She has had lots of edits and even wrote the Edward part. But this is the first MAJOR story shift she influenced. And I got so psyched from it. It fits the story so much better. She's awesome!**

**3) The Harry Potter reference in there is because Samantha and I are batting ideas around for a Harry Potter fanfiction as well. I'd like to write it but have to get an idea like this one that really takes a hold and takes off. The comment Death makes is totes my opinion. I prefer Harry and Hermione together. (Totally think that was JKR's original intention, then she decided not to kill Ron.) If you like this story, I'd hope you'd be willing to read something else we wrote. If we can find something we like well enough to really inspire us, we will. (Feel free to offer ideas :D ) **

**4) Sharp Eyed Shout Out goes to BubblyBlue for being the first reviewer to guess Bella's power had something to do with darkness, BoroBred was the second. And the first person to guess obtenebration was Merkarion. It's not JUST like obtenebration, but that's what gave me the initial idea. I modified it from there. **

**5) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: Death is a lot nicer than I would've expected. Seriously though, Kathryn always seems to have a trick up her sleeve to surprise me with a direction I'd never have expected. Even knowing what's coming in the next few chapters, I'm still awed by her ability to keep me guessing. Also I wanted to personally thank all of you guys for your wonderful feedback!**

**6) Please Read and Review! We do appreciate it! **

**Next Chapter- A Coven Rises.**


	35. Captains and Goddesses

**Chapter 35**

**What you don't know won't hurt you.**

**Maybe their lies are true.**

**Try and remember, try to forget those yesterdays beatings too.**

**You'll never see me coming.**

**You'll never know my name.**

**Try to remember try to forget but you'll never be the same.**

Seth knew his attention was supposed to be focused on the patrol. The pack needed to be vigilant, but after a hundred years and a dozen failed relationships he never expected to imprint, and he was finding that it made it hard to focus. His sister had spent the last century withdrawn, and angry, and she eventually grew bitter. It got to the point where he avoided using the words "depressed" or "lonely" at all, even while phased, or she would get _really _defensive. Seth had spent those endless years at least appearing to remain upbeat, determined to be a source of brightness for the pack, no matter what his true feelings were. It worked, the pack thought of him as the prankster. More than once, Tekali referred to him as a lost boy, an eternal youth, their very own Peter Pan. Yet he never thought he would find his Wendy.

Then Leah found Eliza, and he was extremely happy for her, but couldn't help but be a little jealous. She had finally found her mate, it was amazing and scary. Still she was in love with a vampire. It was a shock to him and the rest of the pack. He hadn't even found out right away, it was later when he finally shifted the evening that it happened. It wasn't that he was bothered that his sister's imprint was another girl, or that she was a vampire so much, since she finally had a chance to have someone specifically for her.

In truth he was overjoyed that Leah found Eliza, since every year he felt her slipping further and further into a dark depression, and farther and farther away from his ability to reach her. He knew it was partially because she was trapped in a group dynamic when she hated groups, preferring to be alone. Mostly she had never really recovered from losing Sam to Emily. She had never been able to give up shifting, which meant she had never been able to age. If she were mortal again, perhaps she could've settled down with someone who might've made her happy enough, even without an imprint.

He had been there for her for so long, hoping that she would be able to let go, knowing that as long as she wasn't able to give up the wolf, there was no way he was going to, abandoning her to immortality without her only living family. Before Eliza he could never understand why she couldn't let go, he wanted to, but he couldn't. Still he'd tried his best to be a bright spot for her. Her rock, her best friend and confidant. He'd watched silently, repressing the traces of his own bitterness.

What had really bothered him about her imprint was the fact that he knew that Leah was never going to give up the wolf. It made him worried that he might not have the endurance to stay at her side anymore. He was happy and supportive of her when she spent most of the last week talking to him about Eliza. About her feelings, about the shock and how it felt. He was somewhat of a captive audience, while he recuperated, he listened and smiled and encouraged even as he felt an envy he couldn't deny inside. However, Leah wasn't oblivious to his pain, and tried her best not to rub his nose in her happiness. Still, the jealousy was there, even if it wasn't some all consuming monster.

Then it all went away. One hundred years of existing without purpose, one hundred years of being alive because he couldn't abandon his sister. One hundred years of hidden resentment and guilt, and loneliness... all gone in an instant.

She was so perfect, a dark reflection of his old self. The sweet guy, the misunderstood guy. She had something in her eyes that told him without a doubt that he needed to be there for her. Needed for her to know that she was important. He couldn't push, he couldn't beg. He just had to be. Let her guide him, fast or slow it didn't matter. She was his world. At first he didn't even know her name.

She just appeared the day before the explosion. Tumbling into the sunlight with Eliza. Her playful giggle caught his attention first, combined with his growing restlessness of being confined to bed, it was enough to draw him over to the window. Then he stood statue still, waiting for her face to turn in just the right way so he could fully see her face. Then she was looked up, sunlight making her skin glow softly... she looked like an angel.

He learned later that she was Bree, Isabella's newly adopted daughter. Perhaps it was a Clearwater curse, to fall in love with leeches, not that he cared. His world came unwound, spiraling into the either until all he could think of was her. Her name, her eyes, her feminine giggle. She completed him in a way that he could never have understood no matter how old he had become. She was everything now. He resisted every urge to charge down the stairs and demand her name. If he wasn't so caught off guard with shock he probably would have. Instead he sat back down on the bed to deal with the surprise. His restlessness was magnified by the fact that he could hear the voices downstairs when they came back inside. But he didn't want his first conversation to be awkward or so public.

When Leah came up to get him, along with Paul and Rachel, once again he surprised himself with his own remarkable restraint in not splitting off to find her when he got down to the first floor and found that she was nowhere to be seen. He didn't let on what had happened to him, but his confusion must have shown, because Leah explained to them that Eliza, Isabella, and their new family member Bree were down in the basement talking to their "bosses"

Seth only half listened to what Leah said about the night's events, as she and Rachel led him and Paul outside for the first time in days. His mind was fixated on one thing, that her name was Bree... then she was gone. The explosion was impossible. He never even spoke a word to her, and she had vanished in a moment so final that he felt his heart tear itself in two. Then in the distance he heard a vampire scream in soul wrenching pain, then he heard his sister scream in the same way, but he couldn't hear his own pathetic cry. The roar of the flames were too loud, drowning out his agony in a heat so intense that it pushed him back involuntarily.

He didn't even notice when Leah tried to run towards her beloved, didn't have the presence of mind to stop her. Nothing mattered... until the shadows came. Cold spreading out like a tsunami, squelching out all the fire in a single dramatic moment. The scream that followed was inhuman, and as frightening as the shadows that joined it, but it brought _her_ back. He was moving his stiff bones and tender muscles as soon as the shadows laid her down.

Then she let him gather her up in his arms, pressing her close to him, and for the first time in his life Seth felt whole. He felt buoyant, even though he felt her pain acutely. Isabella looked dead. It tore at his heart again and squeezed in on his feelings of relief that Bree was already awake. He followed the vampire Alice back to the Cullen house. Then waited patiently for Bree to notice him, which was foolish since her focus was entirely on her new family. Then he had an opportunity to comfort her, but the pretty vampire stepped in before he could act. He left silently, trying not to let anyone know how he felt. He had held her, carried her but he hadn't even managed to get a word out to her.

Once outside, among the pack which was waiting somewhat impatiently for news, he was bombarded with questions he had no answers to. He knew that Eliza was alive, and so was Bree. He had no idea if the skeletal creature that was Isabella would live, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Isabella's wounds were so grievous that he didn't think anything could survive them. Jacob didn't take that news so well. He paced and ranted, going through the list of vampires again and again trying to figure out who would have or could have attacked them. The remains of the house left no doubt that if Paul and Seth or anyone else had still been inside then they would have been dead too.

Seth didn't really listen. He kept staring up at the house waiting for a glimpse of Bree. He was mildly afraid to shift, knowing how much attention he would draw from the pack mind, no matter how tempting it was to use that link to get a few more images of Bree. He knew they would find out soon enough, he just didn't want them to know before he had a chance to talk to her at least once. So that he could try explain his feelings for her.

It was the next day before he saw her come down and curl on the couch with the blonde vampire hovering far too close to her. The Cullen's didn't comment on the presence of the wolves and made an effort to make them feel welcome even. Leah wasn't going anywhere with Eliza hurt, that much was certain, and pack-vampire relations were nowhere near the point that Jacob or anyone else in the pack felt comfortable leaving her there by herself.

Esme made an effort to offer them food, which several of the pack took her up on. They all raved about the cooking. Seth barely tasted it. The hovering blonde did nothing but dote on Bree, and watch over her with a mother's careful eye, which didn't give him much of an opportunity to speak with her. So he waited, and waited. Knowing it was only a matter of time before he had an opportunity to talk to her. Not that he had any idea what he would say...

"Hey, I'm Seth... I'm your soul mate. Or. Hey I'm Seth, I imprinted on you so I'll be whatever you need me to be for you. Or. I'm the guy you were waiting for, I'm all yours baby... sigh. Or Hi, we've never talked but I love you!" The more he thought about it the more silly he sounded. He was pretty sure some of his introduction lines might even get him charged with stalking, especially since she looked so young. He wondered how old she was, and how long she'd been a vampire.

He wanted to ask Leah what to say, but she was still too focused on Eliza. Not that he could blame her now. He totally understood why her world revolved around her. Then Eliza was up, and everything kind of changed. Bree started spending a lot more time out of Carlisle's office. Meaning he had more chances to get her alone. On the third day he finally had a real opportunity, and he had no idea how to explain what happened.

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"You can go up and be with them sweetie." Rosalie suggested to Bree again. Who shook her head slightly, hugging her knees to her chest. It had been three days, and she still hadn't been able to break through and speak to her new mother via their connection. She could hear Eliza call for their mother every few minutes, trying to reach through that strange… blank feeling she felt where Isabella used to be. Bree couldn't explain it. It was like someone had lopped off a limb. For Eliza it was much worse. Bree could feel how frantic she was at not being able to connect with Isabella. It was something that hadn't happened in Eliza's memory, which in and of itself was enough to totally freak her out.

"No Eliza's there, I'd just be intruding." Bree muttered almost inaudibly rocking slightly back and forth

"How? They love you. They would want you to be there." Rose tried not to frown as she attempted to coax the girl out of her shell.

"I... don't deserve them. I can't." She pulled away from Rosalie, who had been there for her so completely the last few days that Bree felt a little overwhelmed. Why were they all being so kind towards her? She was this ugly horrible thing that no one wanted? Why were they being so nice? They had to be playing some kind of cruel game. No... she knew that Isabella and Eliza weren't playing games, but the rest might be. Hell maybe fate was playing a game with her, giving her a glimmer of happiness only to jerk it away when she began to hope it was real. They had to be, no one could ever love her for real. She was… between one thought and the next she had bolted off the couch, and out the door, leaving everyone in the room, even Rosalie flat footed.

Seth was waiting just outside the doors when Bree rushed passed him, nearly knocking him over. He managed to dodge out of the way, and hesitated for a second before following her. She ran for several minutes, Rose calling after her from the house. Seth wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do, or say. He just had to be there for her.

"Stop, please." He yelled after her, hoping that would be enough to get her attention. She stopped on a dime and whirled around fiercely. Her move was so abrupt he couldn't stop from running into her, except once he got within a foot she back handed him hard.

He flew back several feet into a tree, his newly mended bones screaming at him a little, reminding him that he hadn't rested as much as he should've over the past few days, as he twisted to avoid the worst of the impact. He landed on his feet and looked back at her, the snarl of rage had fallen into a look of conflicted sorrow and confusion. She blurred over to him, and offered a hand to help him right himself.

"I'm so sorry... I'm sorry." She said twice before taking off into the woods again.

**_"Bree? What's wrong?"_** Eliza asked worriedly through the connection.

**_"Nothing, I'm fine."_** Bree shot back, then she tried to use the mental wall shield thingy they had described the day before to block Eliza out of her thoughts for a while. It didn't really work, but she could feel Eliza turn her attention away from her, which was exactly what Bree needed. It made her want to hug Eliza, even though she needed some time alone to think.

She ran until she couldn't smell any other vampires or werewolves. She broke into a small clearing, letting the soft grey light of the overcast afternoon filter down on her face. She'd said goodbye to the sun when she was turned, and they had given it back to her. Her sister gave it back to her. Her mother... Isabella. She couldn't lose her. Bree felt on the edge of a nervous breakdown, and it seemed her entire world was shattering, and she was almost relieved as the sensation began to overwhelm her. Then she felt a presence behind her.

She twirled again, and slinking out of the forest was a wolf. His head hung low, and his posture submissive. He was slightly mangy, and a little smaller than the other wolves she'd seen. Only his coloring was different from any wolf she'd ever seen. His fur was sandy colored... and...

"Arnold?" She took a step forward in disbelief. Her overloaded senses were struggling for anything to latch onto, and the wolf seemed to be exactly like her precious stuffed animal, down to the last detail. Had he finally come back to her? If this was the final step to insanity, or if this really was one big dream… well she could think of worse things to be confronted with.

She took a few steps towards the very real wolf standing trembling at the edge of the clearing. It was ridiculous to believe that it was him, come to life for her... but she couldn't help but hope. He took a tentative step forward, and that was enough. She rush towards him with a girly giggle, wrapping him up in a hug so tight that she felt it's bones beginning to give way. She loosened her grip a little, but refused to let go.

"You came back to me." She cried into his fur, holding him with the love of a child that had finally been given the best present they would ever receive Seth let her hold him, totally shocked and confused. He wondered if fate was having a good laugh at his expense. One hundred years, and he imprints on a vampire who's grip on reality seemed to be a tenuous at best.

Finally she let go, rubbing her eyes even though she hadn't been able to shed any real tears. Then she climbed onto his back, "Take me home... or I guess… back to the Cullen's." She seemed to be in almost a dream state as she did this. He obeyed her wishes, wondering how he was going to break it to her that he wasn't this Arnold.

She burrowed into his fur as he walked her carefully back toward the house, she seemed to calm as they walked. As they approached the house, she seemed to take a deep breath and then slid off his back. Her little breakdown now well in hand, and she was finally settling back into reality. She looked at Seth and asked quietly, "Who are you really?"

Seth met her eyes for a long moment, and then turned and trotted behind a tree. There was a sound that Bree couldn't identify, then the ruffling of clothes. It was several seconds later when he walked around the other side of the tree, wearing just a pair of jean shorts. "I'll tell you if you promise to tell me who this Arnold guy is."

Bree sucked in a slight breath as her eyes trailed up Seth's form, he was stunningly fit, and the word "gorgeous" flitted across her mind briefly. All of a sudden the ridiculousness of the past five minutes got to her and she started to chuckle, that grew into a giggle, then finally full blown laughter enough that she was doubled over onto her knees, laughing.

"Not… exactly the reaction I was hoping for." Seth muttered, though her laughter couldn't help but bring a smile to his face.

"You're the guy I hit, sorry about that. So what's your name, for real?" Bree asked between bouts of laughter, the confused expression on Seth's face just adding to humor of the situation.

"Seth. His name is Seth." Leah answered from ahead of them, walking alongside Rosalie as they approached the pair. She fixed him with a piercing glare, disappointed accusation clouding her expression. She had heard the news third hand, since as soon as he shifted the truth of his imprint had spread like wildfire among the other shifted wolves. Kyle thinking it was hilarious that Seth hadn't even told Leah, made the point of shifting back to human and dashing up to tell Leah.

"Seth... I like that better than Arnold." Bree said brightly as she dissolved in laughter again, and then bolted forward to wrap him in another hug Seth's heart swelled a little, he had no idea what had just happened and he wasn't sure he cared as his arms curled around her.

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Rosalie held her tongue, although she was furious that one of the mongrels had imprinted on Bree. Something Leah had informed her when she stormed out of the door. Rosalie had managed to goad Leah into a little bit of conversation as they waited for Eliza to recover. Leah had to explain to her what exactly an imprint was, after Rosalie had asked why a mutt seemed to care so much about a vampire, especially since they viewed each other as natural enemies. Leah expected complete rejection, and was pleasantly surprised when Rosalie listened to her intently, not once teasing or mocking her about it. Rosalie was intrigued, and slightly unnerved by the implications of such a union, then suddenly Leah's brother had imprinted on Bree. It was a fact that Rosalie wasn't thrilled about.

What little Rosalie had managed to glean from Bree about her past was fractured and horrible at best. Unthinkable at worst. However, it seemed that Bree found something fascinating about this wolf in particular, and Rosalie was completely at a loss for an explanation. The only upside that Rosalie could see, was that Leah seemed to be on her side about the whole situation. Leah had gotten just as angry as Rosalie, when the teenage wolf shifter burst into the room to tell her that Seth had imprinted... on a vampire.

"Seth is my brother." Leah replied to Bree's earnest question. Seth felt a little left out, he hadn't really been able to say much of anything since Leah had shown up with bitchy blonde vampire, at least he had a name for her now, Rosalie. The name fit; she was very pretty and deceptively thorny. However any complaint he might've have voiced was silenced by the overwhelming feeling of euphoria caused by having his precious brunette angel clinging to him so closely.

"Ohhhh, that's... is that weird I mean you're with Eliza, so since I'm her sister... I'm confused." Bree looked back and forth between Seth and the scowling faces of Leah and Rosalie, while she tried to work through the social connections awkwardly, causing everyone but Seth to smile. Seth just wanted his chance to explain things, before the rest of the pack... too late.

Jacob, Tekali, Kyle, Paul, and Rachel all came rushing towards him. Questions on their tongues before he had a chance to say anything. He sighed heavily as they surrounded him, some giving him reproving stares and disapproving glares to match his sister's still dubious expression, the others were asking when it happened. The one good thing to come out of the sudden onslaught of questions was that it put off the inevitable scolding that was most probably inevitable, judging by the stormy expression on Leah's face. He ran a hand over his face in exasperation, all he wanted was to grab Bree by the hand an run as far from them as he could.

It was like someone was reading his mind because a small hand wrapped around his, and pulled him deliberately away from his pack. Bree had been told by Rosalie that wolves were unpredictable and she was uncomfortable being surrounded by them. So she pushed through them and all but dragged Seth with her. She was grateful when Leah intercepted the pack members to keep them from crowding and following them. Leah may have been irritated with her brother, but she knew more than anything how important it was to give them a chance to talk.

Bree was determined to get away and face this stranger who seemed to have a strange connection to her. She had listened when Leah had explained imprints to Rosalie, so she knew that an imprint was something very special. Ever since Seth had carried her away from the ruins of her new home, she had been overly aware of him. She just hadn't got the nerve to say anything to him, her shyness was compounded by the fact that he seemed to avoid getting too close to her, even though it seemed like he was always watching her. She didn't want it to seem like she was running away from Rosalie or Leah, but neither of them could answer what she wanted to know. However, that was partially because she couldn't quite articulate the question that she really wanted to ask. The question that was all of a sudden giving her butterflies, and filling her with some kind of itchy anticipation. Was Seth meant for her?

She pulled him towards the house without speaking, and used the various balconies to climb up onto the roof. She laughed as Seth managed to follow her easily enough, although she was quite a bit more agile than he was in this form. They both knew they wouldn't really have privacy, but it gave them just enough of an illusion of such, that neither of them minded.

"So… " Seth said awkwardly, unsure of where to start.

"So… your sister says that imprinting can't be helped and that it's a very special thing. I'm confused, what does it all mean?" She asked as soon as they settled down on the edge of the roof, their legs dangling over the edge. She had never learned the social subtleties that might go in a conversation like this, so she was a bit more direct than Seth expected. The view was spectacular from where they sat, a tapestry of green and brown and lumbering slashes of black looming over the rest of the forest like giants, while the heavy underbrush made the ground seem to come alive with hidden wildlife.

"I am literally whatever you need me to be. I'll be a friend, a confidant, a... lover. I'm yours absolutely and completely." He said unable to look her in the eyes. He was afraid that she would reject him, however, he decided her direct question deserved a direct answer. "I will never leave you, and I will never betray you." He continued trying to modulate his tone so that he didn't sound like a lovesick puppy.

"So… you belong to me?" Her tone wasn't possessive, or offensive, she was just trying to understand.

"Yes, if that's what you want." Seth said quietly, his voice soft and serious.

"Why? Why me? I'm nothing, I'm ugly, I'm..." He turned and gently touched her cheek, turning her to face him. The idea that anyone would think she was ugly was insulting to him.

"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met. You are everything I could've ever hoped for, and then some." She blinked at him, thankful that she could no longer blush properly. Still she felt an anger rising in her throat, why did they all keep lying to her? It wasn't nice to be so dishonest.

"I'm not... pretty. I've never been pretty." Bree pulled her face away from his touch, a little reluctantly. She fought the urge to lash out at him. A part of her desperately wanted to believe him, but she couldn't. She'd always been an ugly freak, her dad and schoolmates all seemed to agree on that.

Seth guided her face back to look at him, she resisted for a few moments before allowing herself to be turned, and his eyes bore into her intently. "I could tell you how beautiful you are until the sun expanded around the world, but you wouldn't believe me would you? I don't know who fed you those miserable lies, but they aren't true. I've been around for a long time, and I've seen a lot of things. You are the one person in the world I would want to share all my experiences with, but that's kind of irrelevant, because I never thought I would find someone like you."

"You don't even know me? How could be so sure?" She asked, inwardly she was waging a war with herself. Half of her was ready to jump off the roof to get away from him, the other half was ready to jump _him._

"Because I was born to love you." He said meeting her eyes, his expression was filled with such total sincerity that she had to force herself not to not turn away from him.

"Oh... wow." Bree stared into his genuine eyes, and for the third time in her life, and the third time in the past few days she felt that maybe there was something inside of her worth loving.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She felt the world spinning back towards her in a thundering cacophony, a million voices raised in laughter, a million voices crying in sorrow, a million voices screaming in pain. It was unbearable, intolerable to even her immortal ears. Nothing but brightness in sharp contrast to the darkness that she had fallen into. Even the love she felt from her daughters, pulling her up into the life she wasn't sure she wanted to live, felt course and irritating. Howls of wolves sounded off in the vague distance, like echoes bouncing off bottomless canyons. Then the grey mists of death pulled away, and all that was left was silence.

She was flesh again, and those phantom sounds no longer rang in her ears like miserable reminders of a half forgotten nightmare. She was whole again, a monster capable of tearing down cities if she so desired. She no longer dreamed, she no longer felt anything except the burning of unrelenting anger. The seething hatred that had defined her black existence was back swirling around her mind in its familiar refrain. Standing alone and defiant in the heart of a terrible storm of brutal retribution and revenge. Her rage bleeding from her core like an open wound... except she no longer stood alone. She hadn't stood alone in so long.

She had Eliza, and then Bree. Now she had Alice... Alice, why Alice... Why was it always Alice?

She opened her eyes to a space that was far too familiar as of late. She felt no movement in the air, or heard a single sound beyond the rustling of leaves outside the windows, and the dull heart beats and cautious breaths of the wolves standing still outside. They had all stopped for her. She knew they had all been waiting for her. Somehow... they all cared. Isabella flared her nostrils in a huff, sitting up so quickly and unnaturally that it drew several audible gasps. Then she turned her head slowly, to scan the room and assess her surroundings, but before she got a chance to really analyze anything more than that she was really in Carlisle's office... again, she was grappled by a set of very welcome arms, followed quickly by another person engulfing her in an overly tight hug.

"Mother!" Eliza cried into her shoulder. Squeezing so tightly that she would've died instantly if she were human.

"Isabella!" Alice's embrace was far more restrained, but the emotional context it created wasn't easy to understand. Alice wasn't holding her like a friend, or even as a family member. Hers was the embrace of a lover, familiar and vaguely sexual.

Isabella was taken aback by the dual hugs, and it took her another few seconds to sort out why, and then how she should react. However, Alice pulled back before she could say anything, looking embarrassed. She seemed so ashamed of her actions that she took several panicked steps backwards, before she looked down humbly at her fidgeting hands.

Eliza felt no such restriction, hugging her mother fiercely. Isabella finally had enough presence of mind to reach out and wrap her arms around her daughter, pulling her in close.

"I was so scared." Eliza whispered in a trembling broken voice.

"How-" Isabella began, but her question was cut off when the door was suddenly yanked open with enough force that it almost came off its hinges. Bree stood in the doorway clearly dithering on what she wanted to do. To Isabella's momentary surprise, she noticed Rosalie standing behind Bree , her expression clearly concerned and a little elated. She wouldn't have thought that Rosalie would be happy to see her awake, but she didn't have time to dwell on her surprise. Bree's hesitation lasted for only a moment, before she launched herself at Isabella and Eliza. The force of the her impact crushed the couch, separating the back from the base, and knocking off both arms.

The trio tumbled over the ruins of the expensive piece of furniture in a mess of arms and legs. Furious giggles quickly erupted from all three of them, followed by uproarious laughter from the rest of the room as they sat up looking disheveled.

"How do you feel?" Carlisle's voice came from the door as he entered the room, his voice filled with a combination of confusion, concern, and amazement. He couldn't quite understand how everyone could be so flippant about such a serious situation.

Isabella disentangled herself from her family and stood slowly. She frowned slightly thinking about his question, and looked down. She was clad in a simple white spaghetti strap shirt that was slightly loose on her frame, and a pair of thin cotton shorts. Her skin was unblemished and flawless, as usual. Then she set about testing her body, she felt stiff and felt the need to work out that stiffness. She started with her hands, balling them up into fists a few times while twisting her wrists around. Then she moved up her arms and flexed while she did, rotating her shoulders and neck to make sure she still had flexibility. Finally she bend down, extending her back muscles, turned her hips, and stretched her legs. If anything she felt almost more limber than before, she couldn't explain it.

"I feel… fine, better than fine actually. What happened?" Isabella asked, her brow furrowing into a scowl of cautious curiosity.

"Your house exploded." Carlisle responded before anyone else could, shifting out of the way to let Rosalie into the room though she didn't quite go past him, intent on leaning against doorframe.

Isabella's head whipped over to look at Eliza and Bree instinctively. "Are you two okay?"

Eliza's smile grew wider at her mother's instinctive concern. "I'm good... now. I woke up days ago, slow poke."

Isabella's eyes closed for several long moments, the memories rushing back quickly. She took almost a minute to process her thoughts, which for her was a very long time. "How long was I out?" She asked quietly without looking up or opening her eyes.

"Six days, fifteen hours, twenty-seven minutes, and forty-eight seconds." Alice said from the middle of the room. Her face neutral and her eyes were closed so that no one could figure out what she was thinking from the emotions she couldn't quite contain. Alice hadn't even realized until Isabella asked, that she had been tracking how long she was out to the second.

"Fuck." Isabella looked up at Eliza, "Did I miss anything?"

Eliza blinked several times and then did the last thing that Isabella expected, she doubled over and started laughing again, but this wasn't quite the exuberant laugh she was used to. This was a helpless, almost insane laugh. Relief so obviously dominating the uncontrolled fit of joy. Eliza couldn't stop though, it was so absurd. Her Mom wasn't even aware of how bad it was, and here she was asking if she'd missed anything. She wanted to scream at her, to make her mom understand how close she was to losing her mind from worry and grief, but she didn't. She couldn't. For her mother, for Bree, for Leah... she had to remain strong. So she forced herself to stop, and straighten up.

Yet when she finally looked up, and noticed how little amusement her mother found in her reaction, she almost lost it again. Isabella shook her head at Eliza, crossing her arms to announce her displeasure. "I'm concerned about the visitors we were promised."

"Visitors?" Carlisle inquired.

Eliza's smile faltered, and she shook her head quickly. "They won't be here for two days at least. From what I can tell from their logged public flight plan, only one of our... no... **_their _**private jets have left so far. They're headed to Cairo first, then they'll stop in New York to refuel, then they're coming here."

"She's right, my vision gave a pretty firm landing time of 11:46am Pacific time at Sea-Tac Airport; Concourse A, gate 14. The day after the day after tomorrow... unless something changes." Alice spoke up seriously, but with a touch mirth.

Isabella glanced at Alice and raised an eyebrow. "Eliza asked me to check. No wolves to interfere with my visions." Alice answered the unasked question with an embarrassed duck of her head. There was so much more she wanted to say but now wasn't the time.

Eliza grinned widely at Alice and teased, "Thanks Data." Before turning to Isabella to shrug at her. "Seemed like a good idea for a bit of extra insurance."

"I prefer Seven of Nine, since she filled out her uniforms so much better. But Data is better than the Yoda comparisons I usually get from Emmett" Alice responded a little too thoughtfully. Eliza's grin grew wider, she was happily surprised to find an unexpected geek among the Cullen's.

Isabella groaned slightly, "Please don't encourage her, or we'll be stuck arguing over which Captain was the best."

Eliza stuck her tongue out at her mother. "Totally Picard, Kirk was a misogynistic ass who had about as much diplomacy as a cat in heat." Everyone in the room, save for Alice and Isabella, started to look between the two of them with a bit of exasperation. Carlisle especially.

"I like Sisko. He had... well he was a bad ass and went on vision quests and he had the whole religious figure arc." Alice replied with a smirk, playing off of the mild amusement coming off of Isabella. The playfulness of the conversation felt good, considering the horrors they had all just endured.

"What are you guys talking about?" Bree asked from Isabella's side, she hadn't moved more than a foot from her regenerated mother. She was confused about the conversation, and obviously hadn't the faintest idea of what they were talking about, but she really didn't want to be left out of the loop.

Eliza sighed and went over to Carlisle's desk and pounded her head against it a few times. "So much work... No. Clue. How. To. Start." Each word was punctuated by a thump of her head against the wood. Then she stood straight up and scanned the room. At the very least her Mom's lips were quirked in a restrained smile, and Alice looked ready to break out in giggles. .

"I think we need to focus on the more pertinent situation here. Who's arriving on that flight?" Carlisle interrupted grounding the growing humor. His frustration was clear, and Isabella could tell he was more than a little irritated at being ignored, again.

Isabella glanced over at him and her expression softened for just a moment. He'd opened his house to her family during her convalescence. She owed him some common courtesy if nothing else. "Let me get caught up and I'll fill you in." She turned to her daughter and raised an eyebrow.

"Well… let's see. Where do I start?" Eliza's smiled turned sour again, and she started to pace while figuring out how to lay out all the events that had occurred since the explosion. This wasn't the sort of news she was used to delivering, and didn't have the first clue how to go about it. "Henry..." Words failed her, trailing off as she felt the shock of his loss again rather acutely.

Isabella blinked and her mouth dropped open, remembering him in the stairwell. "Is he…?"

Eliza shook her head and looked down, biting her bottom lip. "He... didn't make it."

Isabella nodded slowly, she didn't need their connection to grasp that underneath Eliza's surface humor, she was seriously traumatized. So she didn't push that any further. She looked at Eliza for several long seconds, then she looked down thoughtfully and somberly, deliberately giving off the impression that she needed a moment to assimilate that startling and painful news.

It was just enough time to give Eliza a chance to gather herself back up, and present a brave face. The strength must've needed to get through the aftermath of that kind of trauma, made Isabella endlessly proud of her. She too had been very fond of Henry in the brief time that she had known him. She decided then and there, that at the very least they would erect a headstone in his memory. Once she felt Eliza had regained control of her emotions, Isabella narrowed her eyes speculatively cluing Eliza in that she needed to continue.

"After losing Henry, I can't think of much else other than some minor dramas, but nothing terribly earthshaking. Oh, Leah's brother Seth imprinted on Bree." Eliza's mouth was twisted slightly in amusement. "And from her internal monologue, I'd say that the attraction isn't _completely_ one-sided." Bree shot her a slightly offended look, but shrugged when she couldn't deny it.

**_"We should all probably sit down and talk about that in private later, sorry for putting it out there publically Bree. I know it's new and strange for you."_** Eliza responded quickly through the connection. Feeling a little guilty for being so casual towards Bree's feelings.

**_"I'm not ashamed, I just don't want everyone to get upset like those creepy assholes that blew us up." _**Bree elaborated, feeling the need to make sure they knew that Seth was important to her. Even though she didn't quite know how important yet. Bree unintentionally sent a smattering of memories through the connection to both Eliza and Isabella while she spoke. It gave Isabella a much clearer idea of what had happened than any verbal description they could put forth.

**_"Oh, sweetie. We don't care about that, and no one in this room should either. They'll have to answer to me if they give you a hard time."_** Eliza responded quickly.

**_"No, they'll have to answer to me first. I do want you to take your time though, make sure you want him too before getting into anything too heavy, but from what I've seen I approve of him. He's already treating you right."_** Isabella offered, in an attempt to be supportive.

Bree frowned in confusion at that, wondering how Isabella could possibly know or think that he was treating her right, and then she looked down in embarrassment, realizing that she'd sent her memories through their mental connection Bree wrapped her arms around Isabella's waist and squeezed tightly. Isabella smiled down, and stroked her hair slightly, reassuringly. She stopped after a second, realizing that the girl might not want to be touched, and confounded at how her own maternal instincts took over.

Eliza was clearly riding an emotional high responded. **_"Not that Seth's been able to spend too much time here, the wolves are all on high alert. Patrolling constantly. Oh, and Bree's been spending pretty much all her time with Rosalie and Emmett. She's taken quite a liking to Rosalie."_**

This time Bree looked up and frowned at the teasing tone in Eliza's mental voice. "What's wrong with that? Aunt Rose has been really nice!" She said out loud.

Isabella closed her eyes, putting one hand to her temple and the other held up in a stopping motion to the halt the conversation. "Okay. I was wrong. I'm not so fine. Is it possible for vampires to get concussions? Hallucinations maybe?"

Carlisle frowned but before he could step forward to begin an examination, Isabella shook her head and looked at her daughter. "Rosalie… nice? Maybe I didn't hit my head. Maybe I stepped into another universe like one of your science fiction shows. Who's going to be sporting the goatee?"

Eliza giggled and stepped forward to join Bree in embracing their mother again, each squeezing just a hair tighter than they did when they tackled her earlier. Then Eliza began to murmur quietly into Isabella's chest, too softly for anyone but the three of them to hear. "Don't scare me like that again." Then she picked up her volume a bit and added, "it would totally be Carlisle with the goatee."

Isabella lost herself in her daughter's for a moment, holding Eliza and Bree tightly for several long seconds. Then she opened her eyes and searched for Alice over her shoulder. When they locked eyes, Alice attempted a very small smile which came out awkward, and then nodded. Her expression promising a conversation later.

Isabella broke away from the hug, her expression turning serious, as she looked at Eliza. "We have to figure out what to do."

Carlisle spoke up, "If you're worried about where to go, we have plenty of accommodations, and I assure you that your house is not likely to be livable again."

Isabella shook her head slowly, her tone turning formal. "No, we can't stay here. That would present an unacceptable level of risk for you and the Denali."

"What risk?" Rosalie asked, leaning against the doorway, frowning.

Isabella grimaced slightly, "Carlisle, I'm afraid I'm going to have to apologize in advance for my manners. Before I leave here I'm going to be forced to threaten your life." Carlisle blinked in surprise at the gentle tone of Isabella's voice, it was nearly as disturbing as what she said.

"It's to keep you safe though." Eliza piped up, nodding earnestly.

"What… I ….huh?" Carlisle began to stutter, looking completely befuddled.

"My daughters and I have been informed that we're no longer welcome among the Volturi." Isabella stated plainly.

Carlisle's confusion deepened at that. "Informed how?"

"Well, they told us. But instead of a nice watch or a commemorative plaque for our decades of loyal service, our version of a pink slip was… KABOOM" Eliza said spreading her hands to imitate an explosion.

Carlisle spoke up, "Why would they do that?"

"It seems Caius doesn't like the idea of-" Isabella broke off and looked up at Eliza. "Wait, did you tell _anyone_ about Leah's imprint?"

Eliza shook her head, it was something she had turned over and over again in her head since the explosion, "No one, and I asked Leah if maybe one of the pack spread it as gossip. As far as she knows, no one has mentioned it. That leaves Henry, and you saw how he reacted to the call. There's no way he say anything. He would've gotten out at the very least, or if he was the one that informed on us, than I imagine that conversation would have happened a lot sooner."

Alice spoke up, her voice soft. "My vision was pretty clear about one thing, Aro got a phone call before he talked to you. I saw that they were going to do something… I had no idea what, and I tried to get to you…. I…" Her voice trailed off as she took a steadying breath.

Isabella clenched her fist momentarily as she got a fairly clear idea of who the guilty party was, since only one was person was privy to an individual's innermost secrets. She managed to restrain her impulse for the time being, needing to be sure before going off half-cocked to finally end his selfish existence. Mimicking Alice, she took a steadying breath before she turned towards Carlisle again.

"When the Volturi find out that we survived, they're going to take it upon themselves to rectify the situation. If they find us with you, your coven will be judged as guilty by association, and as you know they don't give second chances." She wasn't being cheeky, and Carlisle took her very seriously. Nodding slowly, forced to concede the point, though his face looked troubled as he did so.

Isabella's head turned back to Eliza, "We just need to figure out what to do."

Eliza's expression turned serious as well, mirroring her mothers. "We really do. Options?"

"I'll lay out all of our options to be fair." Isabella frowned slowly, ticking off numbers on her fingers. "Option one, we flee right now. Which might work since they can't track us."

Eliza shook her head at that. "No chance. The Volturi are coming for the Quileute's, and they'll be here in just over two days."

Isabella nodded in acknowledgement. "Agreed. So we stay to stop the attack."

"We do have the option to leave afterward. If we have to." Eliza said reluctantly, though she clearly didn't like the idea.

Isabella sighed and shook her head. "No… probably not. If the first assault doesn't work they'll send another with the big guns. The pack would be helpless against Alec and Jane, or god forbid Chelsea shows up, what would happen to them if they lost their mental link?"

Eliza shivered and nodded. "So we're fairly well nailed down geographically, at least in the short term."

Isabella nodded her reluctant agreement, looking thoughtful.

"We could always take the offensive." Eliza ventured, her voice betraying a bit of excitement at the thought.

Isabella's mouth turned up in a smirk. "Let's leave that option on the table for now. As much as I like it, there's a good possibility that if we go on the offensive, one or more of them escapes, and there's also the risk that someone like Alec and Jane show up here while we're gone."

Eliza heaved a sigh and nodded. "You're right. So it doesn't look like we have many options at all."

Isabella shook her head slowly and glanced down into Bree's wide dark eyes. Bree met her look with a curious expression. "I'm thinking that it might be a good idea if we left you to stay with the Cullen's, where you'll be safe."

"What?!" Bree cried sounding deeply hurt. "You… you want to leave me behind?"

Isabella shook her head quickly, "Not at all sweetheart... But you said you felt a connection with Rosalie, and there's the real possibility that you would be safer here. If you come with us, you could end up getting hurt or worse. I'm just trying to keep you safe."

Bree shook her head quickly. "No. Mother, where you go, we all go. I always thought that was part of being a family."

Isabella stared at Bree for several seconds before turning to look at Eliza who shrugged. "What? I didn't teach her to be stubborn. That shit's genetic."

Isabella rolled her eyes and then looked back at Bree and nodded, unwilling to take the decision she'd made away from her. "Okay." She started to continue but she was interrupted by a protest from Rosalie.

"Wait that's it? You're just going to let her come with you, when you know full well that she could be killed? How can you even consider that, and call yourself a 'Mother'?" Rosalie's half angry, half horrified voice demanded.

Isabella crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Eliza's seemed to survive just fine."

"Eliza is trained to fight and defend herself, just like you are. I just taught Bree how to hunt properly for god's sakes! Before this week she'd been part of a group, picking off humans without realizing she had an alternative choice. And now you say the most dangerous coven on Earth is going to be coming after you. She'll be helpless." Rosalie threw her hands up in the air, her voice going up an octave.

Isabella's voice was calm in the face of Rosalie's tirade, but all the more effective for it. "I won't abandon someone just because it might be 'good for them'. I would never abandon someone who I consider to be family. I won't get into the fact that you started teaching Bree how to feed without asking me if that's what I would want for her. Animal blood is not the only way."

Rosalie's tirade was cut short as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her, her arms dropping to her side as she looked at Bree imploringly. Bree looked down guiltily but shook her head slightly, pressing closer into Isabella, making her decision clear.

Eliza spoke up. "The Swan Coven doesn't abandon its own."

"Swan Coven?" Isabella raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Since when…"

"Oh please, " Eliza interrupted. "The Cullen's are already the Olympic coven. I refuse to share a name, and I refuse to be called the 'Forks Coven'. Beyond the fact that it's a stupid name, consider the sheer amount of silverware jokes and one-liners I could make out of it, we'd be totally ridiculous. I'd lose it the first time someone asks us if there's a Spoon's coven. Of course the name 'Goddess Eliza Coven' is available I'm certain…."

Bree spoke up quickly. "Or the 'Goddess Bree Coven'… I'd be okay with that too..." Her voice was earnest and sincere enough to make it obvious she was teasing. Though she studiously avoided using her last name as a suggestion.

"Well.. I guess Bree's suggestion has _some_ possibilities." Isabella said dryly, more to tease Eliza than anything.

Eliza couldn't keep the pride off of her face at both her mother's and Bree's willingness to join in the banter. "Wait a sec, that's not fair, I've been here longer!" Eliza protested a little too loudly to be taken seriously.

Isabella groaned and ran a hand over her face, "Heaven help me. I have two of them."

"I'd kind of like to be a Swan... actually so I'm all for Eliza's suggestion." Bree said quietly, looking down in embarrassment.

There was a pause before Eliza responded quietly, "You already are sweetie." She closed the distance between them, and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, while brushing a lock of Bree's hair out of her face.

Alice covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle, and she wasn't the only one. Rosalie was biting her bottom lip tightly and Carlisle was rubbing his hand over his jaw, in a movement that suspiciously covered his mouth.

After rolling her eyes in mock exasperation, Isabella shook her head. "We'll go to La Push, for now. The Volturi already have sentenced the wolves to death. The worst that they could do is sentence them to death again."

Isabella paused and looked down at her state of dress, and glanced at Eliza. "Please tell me you have something else for me to wear." The idea of walking out in small cotton shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt that was slightly too large for her frame didn't exactly please her.

Eliza chuckled softly and gestured with her chin to a set of clothes folded on Carlisle's desk. "Alice went ahead and ordered something. We figured you didn't want to wear Rosalie's clothes for long… but when your body was healing we didn't really have anything that fit you easily."

Isabella picked up the clothes, happy to find that they were black. Then she looked around the room with a raised eyebrow in an expression that was clear. Rosalie smiled once at Bree, then stepped back and headed down the stairs without another word. Carlisle nodded slightly and headed out of the room shortly after Rosalie.

Alice hesitated for several long seconds before heading out the door, but not without a last backward glance at Isabella, her eyes flicking up and down Isabella's form as if memorizing it.

Bree moved to follow Alice, but Isabella didn't let go of her. Motioning for Eliza to shut the door, which she did and then leaned her back against it casually. After the door was shut, Isabella let go of Bree, and then walked over towards the desk, stripping as she walked. Bree blinked in surprise at the casual movements and then turned away to give her a bit of privacy.

From her place leaning against the door, Eliza didn't watch her mother dress, nor was she uncomfortable with it. They'd dressed around each other for years. Eliza's eyes were on Bree, but she didn't say anything. Her expression was serious and all hint of humor and teasing was gone.

"Bree, I need to ask that you reconsider." Isabella's voice came from behind Bree as she changed, in quick efficient movements.

It took a second for the words to register, causing Bree to spin around in shock. She found herself face to face with Isabella. "What? I thought you said…"

Isabella was fully dressed, standing stoically with a serious expression practically etched into her stony features. Her black slacks and boots were simple and elegant, and the equally black turtleneck added just a hint of softness to her appearance. Isabella held up her hand to cut Bree off. "I did, and I meant it. But I want you to fully consider what I'm going to say. I know you're connected with us now, but that doesn't mean you have to stay with us. "

Bree tried to interrupt but Isabella shook her head to cut off again. "I'm not telling you we don't want you, quite the opposite in fact. It's just a point of fact that staying with the Cullen's would be safer for you. When the Volturi find out we're alive, which they will shortly if they haven't already….they are going to be after us to kill us. They won't have a choice."

Bree frowned at that, and tilted her head waiting for Isabella to finish.

Isabella reached out and set a hand gently on Bree's shoulder. "The Volturi's whole claim and basis to power is the ability to control others in our world and enforce our few laws. Once word gets out that there's two former members who are openly defiant of the council's will… that's would be disastrous for them. It would bring a question of validity to their purpose, it would make other vampires and covens being to question the effectiveness of the Volturi. "

Eliza nodded and spoke up, "The covens in Africa and Asia try to keep relative control of their territories because they don't want the Volturi stepping in. But even with their impressive power none of them fuck with the Volturi, because they're afraid of what they'll do. That fear keeps every coven under the Volturi's thumb."

Isabella nodded, as her daughter finished a basic explanation of vampire politics; a topic Eliza was far more up to date on than Isabella was. "Exactly. Their entire reputation is going to be at stake here."

Bree nodded slowly, though her face still showed confusion. "What's your point?"

Isabella smiled slightly at the blunt question, "As much as it pains me to say this. And believe me. It _really_ pains me. Rosalie was right. Eliza and I are trained, and if we go down at least we're going down fighting. You're not trained. If either one of us screwed up, you would be helpless. You would be safer here, where you're not associated with us. Aro would probably declare that you weren't responsible for our actions."

Bree frowned at that and then squared her shoulders. Isabella almost sighed because of how familiar the movement was, and she knew what Bree's decision was going to be before she'd even spoken. Bree met Isabella's eyes unflinchingly, "Not a chance. Not only did you both stand up for me when no one else would, which I might add makes you the first people to _ever_ do that for me. You risked a fight to do it. Then you saved my life twice, and offered me a family and a home."

Eliza opened her mouth to speak, but Bree cut her off without taking her eyes off of Isabella's. "It doesn't matter that the home got blown up." Eliza's jaw clacked shut and she looked abashed as her joke was short circuited.

"I also can't let the Quileute's get slaughtered. I'm a part of them now, as much as Seth is a part of me. Plus, I was in the stupid room with you, do you honestly think Aro is just going to let me go? I might be naive, but I'm not stupid. So I'm staying with you as long as you'll have me. And if I'm untrained… well you'll just have to help fix that." She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

Isabella stared at Bree for several moments before stepping forward and embracing the girl in a hug. She glanced over at Eliza. "Genetic huh?" Eliza grinned a little bit and shrugged.

"We'd better go. " Isabella finally spoke up.

Eliza nodded and then hesitated a moment, "Um… one more thing."

Isabella raised her eyebrow at Eliza. "I swear to god if you try and tell me you're pregnant…"

Eliza sighed theatrically, secretly thrilled at even the little jokes her mother was throwing out. "Well… if I am, you're right I probably did need a refresher course on the whole birds and the bees thing. No… sometime, not long after we were brought here, while I was still unconscious, your dumbass ex came in here. Carlisle kept him out, but only because Bree promised we wouldn't kill him."

Isabella raised her eyebrow at Bree who looked abashed. "What, he was pitching a fit and we were worried about whether or not you were going to survive. The house had just blown up, you looked like one of those skeletons they have in anatomy classes… and both Alice and Leah were in near hysterics. I was a tad high strung! But Carlisle promised to keep him out of the room, and he made me promise that we wouldn't attack him this time."

Isabella shook her head and frowned, "He tried to kill us. He's going to die." Her voice had gone ice cold and the red in her eyes was beginning to darken and dissipate. Bree cast a worried look at Eliza who didn't seem fazed at all.

Eliza sighed a little bit, "We don't know for sure… we can't prove it." Isabella raised a doubtful eyebrow. Eliza ducked her head slightly in acknowledgement. "Alright, the little shit probably was the one that made that call. But as much as I'd like to rip his head off... we keep our promises, and Bree spoke for us. Also we kind of owe Carlisle for all the hospitality and blood he got his hands on."

Isabella scowled at both of her daughters for several seconds. "Let's get out of here before I give into temptation."

"I only promised just the once. I didn't say anything about next time." Bree offered helpfully. When Isabella didn't even give her a slight smile in response, Bree deflated slightly. Eliza sighed, and wondered whether her Mom was going be able to get out of the house without killing Edward, or for that matter any anyone in the house who tried to interfere with that goal.

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**Author's notes: WHOOOOA O_O long chapter!**

**1) This was a SUPER long chapter. It was also one that took quite a bit of editing. The three sections about Bree were written by my wonderfully amazing Co-Author Samantha Minuet. She gets to stretch her writing skills on something other than dark and creepy Edward. Giving a different face to the main group. She's young and idealistic and really wants to be happy despite a shit upbringing. She's also emotional. I hope all that came across in this chapter. I also want to acknowledge that Samantha is the genius behind the lyrics on these chapters! So those of you who recognize them from somewhere. Thank her. Music isn't my forte. (has something to do with me being deaf X_X)**

**2) I apologize for how long this took to get up. I'm in a super busy three week period and I've been sickish. after next Friday I should be back to having a lot of time to write. **

**3) Samantha Minuet's Author's Note: So sorry about the long wait, Kathryn was sick, and I literally pinched a nerve and couldn't write. Talk about lousy excuses. Anyway, this was fun for me because I got to contribute quite a bit this time. I hope you all are patient, and I promise we'll get out the next chapter a lot more quickly!**

**4)Thank you to the people who commented on a Harry Potter concept. Samantha and I are still batting ideas around. though we haven't settled on anything yet. So feel free to review or pm an idea to me. If something clicks like it did with this story you'll totes get appropriate credit O_O **

**5) I'm sorry to people who feel like I'm bashing Edward. Um. Probably won't stop. As you can see he's a giant douche. And I get closer to writing his comeuppance every day. **

**6) The next few chapters are going to be focused around relationships. So expect group dynamics and shifts and some focus on Eliza/Leah, and Isabella/Alice. I hope those of you who are watching the Alice/Isabella relationship are happy with it. I haven't rushed it, nor are they suddenly all cuddly and lovey dovey. Isabella is not just over her issues. Their relationship is going to be tempestuous. but at least the two of them are connecting. As for Eliza and Leah... I figure we should check on their progress *shifty eyes* **

**Please read and review! I will be responding to the last chapter's reviews this weekend!**

**Next Chapter- One coven rises, one coven falls. **


	36. Parting Ways

**Chapter 36**

_**Never was and never will be.**_

_**You don't know how you've betrayed me,**_

_**And somehow you've got everybody fooled.**_

_**Without the mask where will you hide?**_

_**Can't find yourself lost in your lie?**_

_**I know the truth now.**_

_**I know who you are.**_

Bree led the trio, followed by Eliza, and lastly Isabella; as they made their way out of Carlisle's office and down the stairs, into the gauntlet of the assembled Cullen's and Denali. Even Bree could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on them. The majority of the Cullen family; Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie , Edward and Alice were all gathered in one area by the massive white couch. Isabella idly wondered where Jasper and Adara were, but assumed they must have both been out feeding.

All seven members of the Denali Coven were spread against one side of the wall, watching them cautiously with differing degrees of curiosity and concern. Then when Isabella appeared after Eliza all eyes were on her. Most appeared shocked, despite the common knowledge that she was alive and whole again. What was the most bizarre to those present, was the fact that she showed no signs of the damage that had reduced her to little more than a charred skeleton.

Bree was very conscious of the stares, but she deliberately held her head high, proud to be a part of her new family. Proud to call herself one of them, and utterly secure in the knowledge that they had risked their lives to protect her and certainly weren't going to abandon her at the first sign of danger. She was looking forward to the training ahead, even though she had a vague rumbling in the pit of her stomach. Still they were probably right in their concern, she might've been safer with the Cullen's. Then she realized that Isabella and Eliza had stopped in the middle of the room. She paused and turned around, slowly, confused as to what was going on. She was under the impression that they weren't going to start a fight. She had even promised Carlisle they weren't going to start any fights.

Isabella crossed her arms as she squared off her shoulders as she scanned the room with a neutral expression. The only pause was when she locked on Edward for just a fraction of a second before moving on in her sweep.

When she started to speak, she kept her voice formal. "I want to thank you for your hospitality during my convalescence. As Carlisle has no doubt just informed you. Eliza and myself are no longer members of the Volturi. To be clear, they now want us dead. So we are leaving so that we do not cause you any further problems. Unfortunately I have to add, just to make things official, that if you try and stop us from leaving we'll kill you. That isn't exactly a threat, more like a warning... which make no mistake, I will follow through on."

All of the Denali, especially Tanya looked shocked. Esme looked devastated, and Edward just scowled. Carlisle, Rosalie, and Alice all frowned, but didn't really react since they had all heard it a few minutes earlier. Eleazar drew attention to himself, scowling and moving forward a couple of steps, his face turned down in a thoughtful frown.

"Is that your way of making sure that we'll be declared innocent of any charges of aiding or conspiring?" Isabella nodded once.

Eleazar's mouth twitched into an amused smirk, "Cute. I guess it goes without saying, since I know better than to ask where you're headed, but I hope you make it far and find a place to find peace and a good life."

Isabella shrugged a little bit, "Thanks for the sentiment, but we're not going far at all, just down to La Push."

Tanya gasped audibly, and spit out with a touch of residual venom from the argument they had never really resolved, "So much for your attempt at keeping us from having to risk ourselves. If that's where you're really headed, and the Volturi ask us... we have to tell them, or we we'll be judged just as co-conspirators and executed summarily."

Eliza spoke up, "Not at all. If they ask, we want you to tell them where we're at."

"But… why? You know the wolves won't be able to protect you, not if they really want you dead. The Volturi are vicious, they won't hold back." Esme's face was filled with concern as she looked at all three women.

This time Eliza grinned a little bit "The Swan Coven isn't afraid. As the movie says; 'Bring it on'."

"Oh it's already been brought." Bree murmured quietly from near the patio doors, as the other vampires in the room seem to process the "Swan Coven" comment.

Eliza blinked in surprise and then turned toward Bree with a horrified expression on her face. "Are you freaking kidding me? You've seen _that _drivel of a movie but you have no idea who Captain Picard is? We have _so_ much to teach you!"

Bree looked self conscious but her reply was cut off by a sigh from Isabella. "Save the geek outrage for later. I'm fairly certain that teaching her to defend herself is more important than a Star Trek marathon." Eliza just huffed in mock offense.

She turned fully to address the room, her voice turning cold. The intensity of her expression seemed to extend out and make the room itself grow darker. "Let's make something clear. The Volturi tried to kill my family. They failed. It the worst mistake they've ever made, and one of the last ones. I may not have declared this war, but I will sure as shit finish it. So when Eliza said we want them to find us, we mean it. We would take the fight to them, rain down hell on all their heads in their precious Volterra, but we will not leave our allies behind."

She let the statement hang in the air for several long seconds before she turned to leave. When she was brought up short, and forced to turn around again by another voice.

"The Swan Coven? You can't possibly be serious?" Edward took a few haughty steps forward, although he kept just over half the distance of the room between them.

Isabella crossed her arms and didn't say anything. She was determined to keep her daughter's promise of not starting a fight. However, just hearing the arrogance in his voice was putting her willpower to the test.

Eliza however didn't feel her mother's restraint. She stepped forward slightly, deliberately placing herself between the two, hoping her presence might temper Isabella's rage. She folded her hands in front of her, and raised her shoulders to appear mockingly flirtatious. "Well actually we had a debate, I didn't like her suggestion of the 'Goddess Bree Coven', and Bree didn't like the idea of us being called the 'Goddess Eliza Coven'. So we unanimously hated the idea of naming our Coven after silverware. Why? You don't approve?" Eliza's voice was sugary sweet, causing Edward to scowl.

"Personally I like the 'Goddess Isabella Coven'" Alice suggested in an attempt to defuse the situation. Edward turned and snarled at Alice in response, then turned his nearly furious glare back over to Eliza for a moment before shifting to meet Isabella's eyes.

"Why do you keep letting her control you?" Edward asked with a quick irritated gesture towards Eliza.

Whatever Isabella had expected Edward to say, she never would've guessed that. "Control me?" She echoed clearly confused. She didn't like the implied threat towards her daughter, and stepped deliberately around Eliza to face Edward. Eliza sighed and wondered whether Edward really was that stupid.

"Yes! Control you. Ever since you arrived here all you've done is pick fights, lose control over nothing, and follow her around like a little puppy obediently submitting to whatever she wants. The anger she brings out of you is totally unwarranted and unfair, hell, you even attacked and almost killed me! Then there's that newborn bitch that's somehow a part of your fucked up little Coven for less than five minutes and she attacks me too! You're even willing to pick a fight with the Volturi for fuck's sake. Why can't you see that she's hurting you? Don't you see that she's going to get you killed?" Edward threw his hands up in the air dramatically several times as he spoke for emphasis. His voice becoming more petulant and nasal as his pleas got louder and louder with his mounting anger.

Oddly Isabella's face shifted as he spoke, and to Edward it felt like he was finally getting through to her. When she finally spoke she conveyed a level of emotion no one in the room had heard from her since she was human. "I don't know what to do, we didn't try and pick a fight with them they just..." Alice narrowed her eyes slightly, confused by Isabella's sudden submissiveness. Rosalie scowled, this was the Bella she remembered all too well. Eliza kept her face twisted into a mask of mock pain, she knew exactly what her mother was doing.

_**"That might be a little too obvious Mom."**_ Eliza quipped through the connection, half to rebuke her mother, and half to fill in a very confused Bree. Isabella ignored her.

"It was _her_ fault." Edward pointed a finger toward Eliza, Isabella glanced at her daughter with a worried expression. "Did you honestly think the Volturi would accept Eliza's relationship with that mongrel bitch as anything other than an absolute perversion of our ways. They're an abomination, something to be studiously pitied, shunned without hesitation, and disposed of as quickly as possible. The Volturi were absolutely right in their actions, I just wish you didn't have to endure that pain too. It would've been okay if she hadn't reciprocated the mongrel's foolish imprinting... I just don't understand why you didn't admonish her right away. You were a Volturi princess... you should've known better than to encourage such a reprehensible union!" Edward leaned forward as he spoke. A condescending, patronizing, and coddling tone of voice replacing his wild and furious rage.

Isabella's face went slack as all her feigned emotion drained from her face, replaced instantly by look so cold that ice could've formed around her eyes. Her piercing a low voice matched her icy expression as her eyes began to shift from their usual red to black. "Interesting, exactly how did you come to that rather specific conclusion Edward?"

That brought Edward up short as he realized that he had made a huge mistake, revealing information he shouldn't have known. The room turned on him almost in unison, their expressions mixed from concern to outright anger. "I… what? I... I don't know what you mean." He stuttered out, totally caught off guard.

"I mean this... how exactly did you find out about Eliza? How would you know what the Volturi based their decision on? How did you know what set off the conflict?" Isabella's voice was whisper soft and seemed to enthrall the entire room.

"I read minds!" Edward snarled in response, trying to put the focus on Isabella. He didn't want to come out and admit that he wasn't reading minds very well at the moment. The static was starting to fade, and he was starting to get flashes of people's minds, especially when they directed their thoughts towards him directly, but whatever backlash occurred when Eliza changed Bree was still affecting him. He was still only able to get occasional flashes, unless someone was deliberately trying to talk to him.

Normally Isabella didn't play these sort of personal manipulation games; preferring instead more expedient methods. Still she wouldn't have gotten very far in the Volturi without some social and political instincts. Isabella's voice became mocking, though underneath her sarcasm the same cold undertone remained. "I don't think so. That excuse only works when the information is out among minds that are open to you. The only people that know the exact circumstances of our disagreement with the Volturi are Eliza, Bree, and myself. We only found out right before they tried to blow up our house. And you can't read our minds." She was careful not to make any sort of accusation. She let others draw the conclusions.

"Oh… Edward… you didn't!" Esme said, her face and voice conveying her horror at Edward's appalling behavior, as she was the first to bring together Edward's rants to the only logical conclusion available.

Edward spun around to look at Esme and then around at the other accusing stares. He ran a hand through his hair in agitation, even with his mind reading abilities on the fritz he could tell what they were all thinking. "All right, yes I did! I couldn't let it go on!" He was desperate to make them all understand, he couldn't stand to see the stares accusation, he had to convince them he was right.

"You couldn't let what go on?" Isabella's voice was once again ice cold, and seem to lash at him like a whip.

"I had to protect you!" His voice was again full of a kind of self-righteousness anger. "Why can't you see? You're completely in over your head… _again_, unaware of what you really want. You haven't changed in a hundred years, I had always guide your hand before, and now you're letting _her_ manipulate you! I had to do something to fix it! Just like I always did!"

Everyone was staring at him, no one noticed Eliza's hand grip her mother's shoulder tightly, holding her back. Isabella's stare had turned deadly, the black in her eyes had spread from the iris out to cover the whites of her eyes, and the lights began to dim from her power.

The multitudes of stares, and the snippets of thoughts behind everyone's enraged expressions spurred Edward on. "I had to constantly tell you what you really wanted, since you could never make up your simple mind. She has you so wrapped up in her that you'll do anything she wants. You don't seem to care about anyone but her. So you're blind to her! So yes, all right... I admit it. I called the Volturi! I did it to protect you from her wicked intentions and abnormal desires. Not to mention the wolves. Those mutts aren't worthy of the air they breathe! I absolutely agree that they should be erased from this world. Who do you think suggested that your _alliance_ was doomed to fail?!"

At this point years of pent up emotions seemed to spill out of Edward. "The fact that her... _perversion_with other girls extends to a wolf shows you just how depraved she is. You have to know that I have your best interests in mind, I always have. You never knew that I saved you from that same abnormal perversion that first day in the cafeteria all those years ago!" He practically shouted pointing a finger in Isabella's face.

There was silence and confusion all around the room at the end of Edward's tirade. His statement even confused Isabella through her growing rage.

"You... _knew_..." Alice's voice hissed out in sudden accusation as realization hit her like lightning. That moment had replayed so many times in her mind, that revelation clicked into place the second he said it. She thought she had kept that vision hidden, but she'd been wrong all these years. Anger, grief, and shock warred for supremacy in her mind as she stared at Edward. She stepped forward, away from the light hand Esme had casually rested on her shoulder when she had tensed up during Edward's outburst.

Edward stiffened at the accusation and turned to face her with a combination of pity and disgust contorting his face into an hateful grimace. Still he couldn't quite meet Alice's gaze, instead he focused his gaze over her shoulder at Esme who seemed totally lost. He had to make her understand, she would always side with him. So he managed to soften his expression, so that Esme could see his compassion. "Of course I saw your vision that day. I knew I couldn't let… _that _happen."

The confusion in the room shifted, and everyone began to look from Edward to Alice and back again. Esme was utterly lost, and couldn't understand what Edward was trying to tell her. He frowned when revelation didn't cross his mother's brow so he began to scan the room. Isabella looked lost, and so did Eliza and Bree. Then he glanced at Rosalie and Emmett, . Rosalie's face was narrowed in suspicion, clearly searching Edward's face for something. Alice just stood there in shock for several seconds. She stared at Edward unspeaking, not that she could form the words around the horror of his betrayal.

After several long seconds Alice realized what she needed to do. She pulled her eyes away from her adopted brother to Isabella. Again she opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't quite find the words to explain. She took a deep breath and stepped away from the family she had been a part of for over one-hundred and fifty years. Tentatively she walked forward, her steps slow and carefully measured. Edward tensed up, prepared for the inevitable slap as she approached him, but Alice turned when she was a few feet away from him, and passed right by him to approach Isabella.

Alice stood silent for a moment, building up her resolve before she spoke. She didn't want to appear unsure or apprehensive. Isabella's black eyes softened slightly as she looked down to met Alice's amber eyes. "Does the Swan Coven have room for another member?" Alice's voice was very soft, but her question had the effect of a bomb going off.

"Alice!" Esme's voice called to her daughter, her voice sounded desperate and broken. It was clear her entire world was spinning away from under her. Alice had to fight the impulse to run over and comfort her, so she refused to even respond the Esme's tortured plea.

"Absolutely!" Eliza answered brightly before anyone else could respond. Isabella's head whipped around to stare at Eliza for a second before being drawn back to meet Alice's eyes.

The black slowly receded from Isabella's eyes, as she stared into Alice's unflinching expression for several moments that seemed to stretch on. When she finally spoke up, she kept her voice quiet but firm. "You realize what coming with us would mean. The Volturi want to kill us and won-"

"Never again." Alice cut her off, but this time Alice's voice was so soft that only Isabella, Eliza and Bree heard it, not that she made sense to anyone but Isabella.

Isabella's expression was unreadable for several moments as she tried to read Alice's eyes, wondering what exactly it was that Edward had done that had her so upset. The silence stretched on before she nodded slowly in agreement, though her eyes didn't leave Alice's. Alice broke eye contact reluctantly, and turned to stand beside Isabella and face the others resolutely.

"Alice… what are you doing?" Esme stepped forward with an outstretched hand as if to reach out to her adopted daughter.

Alice met Esme's eyes, her own filled with compassion for her mother's pain, but at the same time she couldn't shut out the pain and fury she felt at Edward's stinging betrayal. "I'm sorry Mother. Edward… has… I have no words for it. He's… betrayed me in the worst way imaginable. Even if Isabella and her Coven didn't accept me, I could no longer live in his presence. I can't even bear to look at him. I'm sorry if that hurts, but I cannot be here. Not with _him_. Not anymore." She couldn't hide the sheer disgust clearly evident in her voice. No one had ever heard that level of hatred coming from Alice, so it seemed to throw the entire room into a state of hushed shock. Except Edward who was glaring daggers at Alice

Isabella murmured quietly as if she were trying very hard to keep a bottle cap on her emotions, "I think it's time to leave." She felt agreement flow from both Eliza and Bree and felt them turn to file out the door. She turned with them to follow, if she stayed much longer she was going to kill Edward which would betray her daughter's word by breaking her promise to Carlisle.

Alice turned as well, but her gaze remained locked on Edward. Her hatred for him broke ever so slightly, as she realized that she had finally won, so she threw a very quick smirk in his direction, and then very deliberately brought up the memory of Isabella kissing her in the forest after the newborn attack, and directed it at Edward.

Edward caught the snippet of memory as something hazy and passionate. His jaw unhinged and he let out a gasp and then a vicious snarl of rage. It was one thing to see his Bella corrupted by Eliza, since there was obviously nothing sexual there. Alice though, was a completely different story. She had dared to touch his mate, it sent him into a rage unlike anything he had ever felt before. "How _DARE _you spread your filth to her! She's my mate... not yours! I won't let you taint her with your filth! I'll fucking kill you before I let you touch her again!" He screamed at Alice, who along with Isabella, Eliza and Bree had turned around to face him at his outburst.

"Edward!" Esme gasped in horror at her son's vitriolic outburst.

He began to move forward, clearly intending to attack Alice. Alice's attempts to hold Isabella back with her arm were futile. She had promised not to fight, but no one could fault her for defending herself. She stepped right in front of Alice, ready to meet Edward's charge.

He didn't make it that far.

An arm grabbed his shoulder from behind and threw him up against the wall. He looked up in surprise to see a scowling Emmett in his face. "You will NOT attack our sisters." Emmett half shouted through gritted teeth. He stepped back a fraction of an inch to give Edward a bit of room, but as soon as Edward tried again he pushed Edward back against the wall with even more force.

Carlisle moved forward to say something to calm the tensions in the air, but any attempt he was going to make was cut off by Rosalie. Rosalie walked up to Emmett and laid her hand on his arm pulling it lightly down from Edward. She stepped in between them, turning her back to Edward and then she gently pushed Emmett back away from Edward a few feet. He met her gaze stubbornly but he complied.

Edward pushed himself away from the wall, his voice still an angry snarl, "You have no idea what-"

He was cut off as Rosalie spun around and slapped him across the face. "That was for talking to Alice like that."

He opened his mouth to reply in a snarl again, but she slapped him across the face a second time. "That was for talking to Isabella like that."

She lifted her hand a third time, but this time he lifted his arm to block her incoming slap, however, instead of slapping him across the face, she suddenly and roughly gripped his shoulders and brought her knee up into Edward's crotch with all the force she could muster; which wasn't insignificant. Edward gasped in pain and collapsed to the ground, hitting his knees against the hardwood and splintering it, before rolling onto his side and curling into fetal position.

Rosalie hissed down at him, rage flowing freely over her face, her foot lashing out to kick him in the stomach once, then twice, and then a third time. "And those were because I have a pretty fucking good idea what you just confessed to, you fucking bastard. If so, you've spent the last century manipulating this family to fit your twisted views. Now that Isabella's back in our lives you're obsessed with the idea she's yours." She kicked him again to illustrate her point, "If it hasn't sunk yet... She's not!"

Rosalie brought her foot up to kick him again, only this time Emmett wrapped a thick arm around her waist and pulled her back. "I think that's enough baby." Emmett whispered in her ear. Though it was clear to her that he wasn't entirely sure he meant it. Then she looked back and realized that he was acting mostly for Esme, who had also sunk to her knees in grief. Her body shaking in tearless sobs. Carlisle was holding her, his own expression teetering on the edge on his own emotional collapse.

Rosalie took several moments to calm down, her eyes locked with Carlisle's. Then she looked at Esme, and then back to Carlisle trying to figure out what she needed to do. Then she looked back down at Edward, and realized they might never abandon him. She looked up at Emmett who gave her the most sincere smile she had ever seen. She knew he would be there for her no matter what she decided to do. She kissed him then, unabashed at the witnesses. "I love you."

Then she pulled away from her husband and walked to the center of the room, staring at the members of Isabella's Coven with a strange euphoria spreading through her body. She knew what she need to do, and it felt right in a way she had never experienced before. She had always been a part of Carlisle's family because he had saved her, yet he had given her a life that she had never wanted. Still she felt she owed him something for that, because without his actions she would never have met her Emmett. But that was an old debt, one she had paid with two hundred years of companionship and loyalty.

Bree needed her, now more than ever. Isabella was strong, but Rosalie wasn't sure she was quite compassionate enough to be a true mother. Not yet at least, since Isabella clearly had her own issues to work through. Bree would need someone she could talk to, someone she could turn to about the inevitable questions she would have about life, feeding, whether or not to kill, how to deal with her new sister, and boys. Especially since she already had Seth, and Eliza seemed more like the sort of person to encourage Bree into jumping things with both feet instead of thinking them through, and Isabella didn't strike her as someone who should hand out romantic advice. And Rosalie desperately wanted to be that for her. To be a mother for someone else for the first time... in truth it was all she had ever wanted to do.

Edward's betrayal was enough to finally cement that need in her mind. Isabella needed allies right now, she didn't need a Coven, she needed a real _family_ to back her up. Alice needed Rosalie too, no matter how much she felt the need to hide her feelings. Rosalie had always known that Alice's true feelings for Bella were more than she let on.

All those mini-revelations came in a rush, confirming the one thing that she knew for sure. She turned to look at Carlisle, her expression shifting to one of sorrow. "I'm sorry." Her voice was soft and full of unspoken emotion, and she was happy she didn't have to conceal the tears that would've fallen in that moment. Then she turned back toward Isabella, and walked towards her with purpose. Emmett stayed behind for a moment, before following as he realized what his wife was about to do.

"I'm going with you." Rosalie stated as she met Isabella's curious gaze. The slight curl in her lips betrayed the amusement she felt at Edward's humiliation.

Isabella blinked a few times, in an attempt to pick her metaphorical jaw up off the floor. Still all she could muster in response wasn't anything more eloquent than "W..what?"

Rosalie squared her shoulder and lifted her chin a little bit "I'm-"

"We're!" Emmett broke in correcting his significant other.

Rosalie hesitated, not truly surprised, but definitely pleased as a smile broke over her face momentarily. Then she met Isabella's gaze. "We're going with you. Assuming that your Coven has room for two more."

Isabella once again felt gob smacked and her jaw actually hung open slightly. Isabella knew that for Rosalie, that was the equivalent of begging. It was something she never would've thought she would see in her lifetime. Isabella ran a hand over her face, and muttered to herself, "never would've thought it was Rose with the goatee." Eliza smirked and nudged her mother slightly.

"Why?" Isabella asked bluntly after taking a moment to recover herself.

"I'm not about to let Alice go off on her own, not after..." She looked back at Edward, who was still on the floor, for a lingering moment before turning back to Isabella and continuing, "also while you were napping, I became rather attached to Bree, and think that she might need someone else in her life that can teach her more than '101 Ways to Kill a Vampire'." Rosalie said as she glanced over at Bree, her expression softening for a moment into a smile, before meeting Isabella's eyes again solemnly.

Isabella was battling with shock, blindsided by Rosalie's sudden declaration. Not that she really had a chance to absorb Rosalie's actions. Without warning Bree stepped forward and half tackled, half hugged Rosalie. "You want to come with us to Aunt Rose? That's awesome!" Then she turned and looked at Isabella with her best puppy dog eyes.

Eliza spoke up, "Just to be clear, 'Goddess Rosalie Coven' is not going to be an option either." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Emmett let out a little chuckle. Isabella sighed and with an accusing glare at Eliza nodded her head slowly. Not trusting herself to speak.

Carlisle reluctantly let go of his wife, and took a frantic step forward, panic and grief dominating his nearly wild expression. "Rosalie… Emmett… Alice… I know we can talk this out. Emotions are running high, and things were said... but that's not a reason to abandon us! Pla... please don.. don't rush off so... impulsively!" He glanced at each of his adopted children before glaring down at Edward who was still in the fetal position on the ground. He wondered briefly how Jasper would react when he returned from hunting, and wondered whether or not they would lose two more children when they found out.

Rosalie turned and met Carlisle's eyes. "No we can't, however, If you want to know why... talk to him." She nodded her head toward Edward. "Though I wouldn't trust anything that came out of his mouth, I bet he's been a liar longer than I've been alive." Then she turned and stomped out the door with both Bree and Emmett in tow. Eliza followed her after one last smirk at Edward.

Alice glanced down at Edward and then looked up at Esme before turning and walking out the door, but stopped just outside to wait for Isabella. Isabella's gaze swept the room, first to the Denali Coven, then towards Carlisle who had returned to comfort an absolutely broken looking Esme, and then she turned and walked out the door, without sparing Edward even a glance.

Edward couldn't let it go. "You ungrateful bitch-" He shouted viciously towards Eliza's back, despite the fact that he was still laying on his side in a relaxed fetal position.

Isabella whirled around and flew towards Edward so fast that not many in the room could track her. Then there was the sound of shattering wood and the crunch of concrete. Eliza and Bree rushed back in the house, followed by Rosalie and Emmett. Everyone was dead silent, because Isabella's fist was imbedded into the floor up to her elbow, less than half an inch from Edward's wide eyes. Her eyes were jet black again, and a lethal hiss escaped her throat. That would've been enough to give anyone pause, but what had everyone frozen where they were in shock, was a definite outline of shadow surrounding Isabella, shadows that seemed to pulse with her anger.

When she spoke it was with a voice even colder than before, it was so deadly that it seemed to cut into everyone in the room, forcing a chill run through them. "You do not speak to my family that way. You wanted to kill me. Fine. The feeling is mutual, but you crossed a line when your manipulations cost a good man his life, and when your mindless hatred extended to my daughters. I know you were too scared to do anything yourself. You tried to get the Volturi to do your dirty work for you. They failed. If you come after me or my family again, you will find out the true definition of a monster."

Edward sneered at her, holding himself like he was suffering the worse pain he'd ever experienced. Isabella leaned in even closer and narrowed her eyes to slits. "You think that's pain... I've suffered through more than your selfish mind could begin to comprehend, so let me be perfectly clear... if I see you again I won't just kill you... I'll do to you what was done to me. So if you like pain, and truly wish for a horrible death... I would love to oblige you."

"This hurts, but fuck we've all endured the fires of transforming into a vampire and you don't see any of us parading around like some hateful bitch. I can't believe you, you fucking BEGGED to be changed for Christ's sake!" Edward spit out.

Isabella's voice was a hiss, "Victoria made sure I understood the nature of pain, before she turned me and buried me alive for a decade. You're lucky in that regard... I don't have the patience to wait ten years to kill you."

Isabella jerked her arm out of the hole in the floor, and then stood so she could leave the pathetic vampire behind once and for all. She didn't notice the blank stares of everyone in the room. Esme had stopped actively sobbing, and instead a look of absolute desolation and inconsolable grief had cross into her expression as she stared at Isabella. Carlisle was trying to help her, but it was clear Isabella's confession had pushed his own emotional turmoil over the edge as well. The Denali all blinked, as they tried to comprehend the concept of ten years in a hole.

Edward could see it in her eyes and posture, this was it. The final moment, his last chance to confront her. He'd never considered that Victoria had gotten to her, it changed everything. He stood as quickly as he could and grabbed her right shoulder, in a vain attempt to keep her engaged. "I'm sorry I didn't know." He started. She twisted out of his grip and spun on him. Her face showed her full rage to him for the first time, and it frightened him down to his core.

He was right before, there truly was nothing left of the girl he once knew. He hated this new creature, her unnatural powers, her abnormal behavior, her betrayal of the very rules he lived by. She was something that had to be destroyed. She was right about one thing, he had done the cowardly thing by using the Volturi... this time would be different.

He backed up a step, pretending to back down. She turned again and started towards her family. Then he lashed out, putting all his strength into one carefully aimed punch, intending to take her head off with one strike. Isabella turned fluidly, without a sound, and caught his swing with one hand, and then she immediately tightened her grip on it. He felt his marble skin begin to crack from the pressure. Then she shifted her body quickly, and tossed him over her shoulder out the back window. He flailed helplessly as he crashed through the thick glass, and down the slight hill towards the river at the back of the property.

She followed so quickly that only Eliza and Bree could follow her movements, as she leapt into the air before he landed, with shadows gathering behind her which seemed to propel her faster towards him. She slammed down into his chest from above, with far more velocity than gravity itself would have lent. The power of it drove him into the dirt with such force that the ground rumbled from the impact.

When the dust settled, Edward found himself in a small crater, his chest was practically shorn in two. He gasped from the pain, which was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Isabella was still standing over him, shadows billowing from her back and surrounding him in a terrible darkness, as she stared down at him with obsidian eyes that seemed to pulse with an unnatural energy, she gave him a wicked smile. "There's a taste. I won't be so... friendly next time." The smile faded, and so did the darkness surrounding her. She took a deep irritated breath before continuing. "Understand me very clearly. You are alive right now for two reasons. Carlisle showed us hospitality while I was recovering, which means I will not repay him by killing you, and Bree promised there would be no fights this visit, and I would've kept that promise if you hadn't attacked me. But you have wasted my debt to Carlisle, I am repaying it by not ripping your fucking head off where you lie. Edward... never try to touch me or anyone in my Coven again or I will finish you."

Without another word, she jumped out of the crater and headed down the slope towards the river. The newly formed Swan Coven followed her, each with a different expression on their face. Bree was staring wide eyed at the circle Edward still hadn't crawled out of, in bewildered awe. Alice was watching Isabella closely, her concern outweighing her pride. Rosalie didn't bother to give her former brother a single glance as she followed behind Alice, she knew that she had to show her loyalty now if Isabella was going to ever truly accept her. Emmett on the other hand wasn't really concerned, or awe struck, he was angry. He threw Edward a disappointed and disgusted glare, it was the one look that hurt Edward worse than any of the others. To add insult to injury, Emmett took a moment to kick a bit of dirt scornfully onto Edward before following after the others.

Eliza hung back to smirk at Edward, who glared at her through hate filled eyes. When Eliza spoke, her tone belied her smirk. "Mother hated you for years for what you did you piece of filth. You don't have to worry about bumping into Mom anywhere. Because the gloves are off. If it's possible I am going to make your life a living hell before I kill you. It seems fitting since that's what you did to her." Eliza waved playfully as she disappeared after the rest of her Coven. Worried that if she stayed for another second she was going to give in to her urge and finish him then and there.

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The group of six walked away from the Cullen house in silence. Everyone was eyeing Isabella, waiting for her to break the ice, yet Isabella didn't meet anyone's eyes as they headed into the forest. She appeared lost in thought, as she turned over all the events she had awoken, again and again.

The quiet continued to stretch into minutes as they followed Isabella's lead, though it was clear she wasn't headed for La Push. Instead she made her way back toward her ruined house. Isabella, still turning things over in her head turned to glance at Eliza. "I hope you know I blame you for this."

Eliza frowned, and tilted her head curiously, though the rest were quiet.

"We came here with the two of us. Enforcers of the Volturi. Out of the two of us, I think it's fairly obvious which one of us is to be blamed for making friends." Isabella said raising an eyebrow at her daughter.

Rosalie piped up in an attempt to join the banter. "This coming from the girl who, as a human, befriended vampires, and then werewolves."

Isabella blinked in surprise at Rosalie's sudden jump into the conversation; but Eliza's reply beat her to the punch. "See, I told you, some of that shit's genetic."

Isabella sighed and rolled her eyes, "Now there are six of us."

Isabella watched her carefully for a moment before she stopped walking. Everyone else seemed to be taking their cue from her because they stopped as well. Isabella turned to Eliza first. "Someone should find Jacob's patrol, and tell them to head back to Quileute lands." Eliza nodded once in agreement. "Tell Jacob that he's going to need another council meeting. Preferably tonight if at all possible." When Eliza gave her a questioning look Isabella met her eyes seriously. "Things have changed. We need to make sure that we're on the same page."

Eliza nodded again in understanding, and then turned without replying and sprinted off into the forest. She didn't want to come out and say it but she had been anxious to see Leah from the moment her mother woke up. They'd only seen each other very briefly over the week.

Isabella turned to Bree and met her eyes "Bree, why don't you go on ahead and take Rosalie and Emmett up to the house? We'll meet you there."

Bree's responding look was puzzled, though a quick glance told her that Isabella was serious. "Okay Mom… C'mon Aunt Rose and Uncle Em." She gestured with a hand to lead them into the forest somewhat reluctantly towards the house. She had only spent a day in that house, and despite the fact that it was gone, she still felt a connection to it. Rosalie and Emmett both gave Isabella and Alice lingering glances before they turned and followed Bree.

Isabella watched them go, the names "Aunt Rose" and "Uncle Em" flitting through her mind briefly, before she turned to regard Alice fully. Alice made attempt to hide that she was watching her. Their eyes met and the two of them stared at each other, unspeaking, both somewhat unwilling to start _the_ conversation.

Finally Isabella broke the silence. "So are you going to explain it to me?"

Alice raised an eyebrow, a nervous smile playing over her lips. "What exactly would you like me to explain."

Isabella clarified slightly, "Well to start with, how I've gone from three members in this… Coven, to six in a single afternoon."

Alice's fixed her features into a serious expression. "We each have our own reasons." Alice replied thoughtfully, though it was clear that Isabella wasn't going to just accept so little an explanation. "Rosalie and Emmett..." Isabella shook her head cutting off Alice's attempt to deflect, so she changed tacks.

"I already told you when... I meant what I said... Never again." Her voice was quiet and earnest.

Isabella tilted her head curiously, "And none of this has anything to do with Edward's little rant?" Her tone made it clear that she didn't believe it was that simple a choice.

Alice looked down at the ground, the first time her eyes broke away from Isabella's since the conversation began."Are you sure you want to know?"

Isabella nodded slowly, her piercing eyes not leaving Alice for a moment. "Yes, I think I do."

Alice sighed a little bit and dropped her shoulders slightly. This wasn't a conversation she had planned on having so soon, and she was entirely unsure how Isabella would respond. Yet she had promised herself that she would never intentionally deceive Isabella again. "It's hard to... no one really recovered from leaving you behind. No one said it exactly, mostly because of Edward... and after hearing your story I can't begin to claim that we had it worse than you, but… life was... difficult for us. I don't think most of the family realized how much you had become a part of us until you were gone."

Alice looked up at Isabella briefly before looking down again. "Everyone missed you in their own way. Emmett missed the fun you brought to the family. Jasper missed your calm, I know that sounds strange but he always admired your resolve and bravery. Esme couldn't talk about you without practically bursting into tears, it was so plainly obvious that she felt like she had lost a daughter, and I could tell that Carlisle missed you just as much. Rosalie… was the most peculiar. She was… out of sorts for years. Snippy and crabby at everyone, especially Edward. It was like she was missing something, but she couldn't explain what it was. I know she ever realized how much you affected her, I think she was so against you because she didn't want to admit that she had grown to like you. Edward's reaction of course, was just a weird. For the first few years he went on and on about his whole "noble suffering" bit, then one day he moved on and obviously felt better about himself. The rest of us were suffering, and he seemed almost happy. He said it was because he was convinced that you had moved on... I wish I could say I didn't believe him."

Alice looked at her hands for a moment as she paused. Isabella interrupted her though. "I honestly don't care about what Edward did or didn't do. What did you feel?"

"See that's just it. I thought if Edward could get over you, then none of us had an excuse. I thought he loved you." Alice said emphatically. Isabella just nodded once with a surprisingly warm smile, in an effort to coax it out of Alice. "I felt… like my entire world was gone."

Alice sighed visibly. "Edward sent the Volturi after you and Eliza. My guess is that he was either hoping they'd just take Eliza out, or maybe he was thinking if he couldn't have you no one could. It's clear his issues with Eliza are... complex and irrational. If he's being honest in his belief that she's controlling you, well that's a whole new level of crazy I didn't know he was capable of. I know she has a low opinion of him and makes no attempt to hide it, that's probably why he's all about getting rid of her. All he cares about are other people's opinions, he prides himself on his image as this sort of 'golden boy' ideal."

Alice's eyes flicked back up to meet Isabella's. "Obviously he doesn't approve of the relationship between Eliza and Leah. I honestly can't tell what upsets him more about the concept, that Leah is a wolf or that they're two women. Edward has always been extremely old fashioned in his beliefs and convictions. His world view hasn't changed since the early 1900's."

Isabella's lips thinned to a straight line as she murmured quietly. "I noticed that."

Alice smiled sadly. "I thought you might have. The fact that you're not swooning into his arms is driving him even more crazy. I think he fancies himself this grand hero who made a huge sacrifice by letting you go to be human. In his mind you should be singing his praises, falling to his feet in gratitude for being so magnanimous."

"Snowballs chance in hell of that." Isabella snorted, her eyes darkening a bit at the thought. "And the part about protecting me since that first day in the cafeteria?"

Alice flinched a little bit, she knew Isabella was far too canny to even think about deflecting that one. She looked down at the ground and paced a few steps back and forth so she wouldn't have to meet Isabella's gaze.

When she did speak her voice was soft. "The first day we met you, I had a vision."

Isabella raised an eyebrow, that was something she had always wondered. What was the reason Alice left the cafeteria that first day alone, and why hadn't she seen Bella coming into their lives?

Alice didn't look up again, as she stopping pacing. She could face her either, so she had stopped facing away from Isabella. It took a minute to build up her courage, before as she forced the words out. Alice was absolutely terrified of Isabella's reaction. "That first day in the cafeteria. I had a vision of you. They were really just flashes and glimpses, different things like reading a book or combing your hair, though in all of them you were a vampire with amber eyes like us. Then it shifted, and I saw... us in the forest, just talking and laughing and... kissing… it was a vision of us... together." Her voice was full of longing and an old hurt and deep seated pain.

She let those words hang between them before she elaborated to make sure there was no misunderstanding. "Together, together. As a couple. As lovers."

She gritted her teeth and continued, "Then Edward saw you, and immediately those visions vanished... no it was like someone shattered them like a pane of glass under the impact of a sledgehammer. In a micro-second he had made the decision to claim you, and that decision sent ripples through the future, effectively erasing our future together."

She felt Isabella shift behind her, and when her voice came out it was very soft. "So he was lying about trying to stay away from me?"

Alice shrugged a little bit, not turning around to see Isabella's expression. "Lying is something Edward does very well… At the time I didn't think he'd seen my vision of us, until he said as much today."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Isabella asked her voice still soft, but Alice still couldn't tell what Isabella's reaction to her confession was.

"Because you were with Edward. From the moment the two of you got together it was clear you were very much in love. Who was I to ruin that?" Alice hung her head in shame at how pathetic she sounded. She felt tired, and empty inside for a long moment. Until she felt a grip on her shoulder, in the next instant she was spun around to face Isabella.

Alice bit back a small gasp, Isabella's eyes were purely black again and she was staring down at Alice. "Why?" Isabella's expression felt dangerous to Alice, and there was no mistaking the demand. She needed an answer.

Alice looked up unflinchingly into Isabella's eyes, though her voice came out very softly. "I… didn't want to interfere… I just wanted you to be happy… even if it wasn't with me and I-"

She was cut off as Isabella's pulled her tightly against her, and pressed her lips against Alice's. For a split second Alice was frozen, unable to process that it was Isabella kissing her. Her shock didn't last long, as she melted into the arms of her dark beloved.

Isabella pushed them against a nearby tree, feeling a hunger she couldn't fully explain. Once again the kiss wasn't a gentle one. It was a ravenous and passionate kiss, one that had that same undercurrent of anger and force behind it as the first one did. Yet the kiss had more to it, it was deeper and longer and the intent was far more clear to Isabella. She wanted Alice... perhaps she had always wanted her. The effect was something even more intense than their last embrace. It drove Alice into a fit of conflicted ecstasy and she couldn't stop the moan of contentment from escaping her chest. Her heart almost swelling from the impossibility of this moment. For nearly a century she had never dreamed to hope... and suddenly that hope came flooding back to her. Drowning her in the moment, holding her under until there was nothing but the bliss of her requited love.

For Isabella, she didn't care that she had acted on her urges again. Even though she had no idea why she seemed to keep losing control like this. There was something about Alice that felt… so right. As Alice told her about her broken vision something in that unknown future... about what could've been had it not been dashed by one selfish and ignorant act... something inside Isabella reacted, her instincts coming to the fore. Then Alice said the one thing that no one except her parents had ever said to her, that her happiness was more important than her own desires. Her confession spoke of a truly selfless act of sacrifice.

The kiss came easily, she needed Alice in a way that didn't understand and never knew she wanted. So when she heard Alice's moan and it ripped through her senses, and she pulled back from the kiss with a grunt of effort. She retreated several steps away from Alice, her chest heaving to get rid of the scent of cinnamon and lilacs.

Her beast was right at the surface, and she was a hairsbreadth from losing control and giving in. However, for the first time Isabella could remember, the monster wasn't urging her to inflict pain, no, in a very real way it was something even more instinctual, which represented a much more powerful need. The beast began to pace beneath her fragile control, roaring at her to turn back and _take_ Alice. It felt like a demand, that she had to lay claim to Alice in the most primal way possible; that Alice was _hers._ That she _belonged_ to her.

"You… should go." Isabella rasped out, still struggling to bring all of these sudden new urges under her full control.

"I'm not going anywhere." Alice's voice was firm as she watched Isabella carefully, her back still pressed into the tree.

Isabella spun around to face Alice with a snarl on her face "You don't understand! I-"

"You're dangerous. Yeah I got that memo." Alice said, stepping forward again and looking up unafraid into Isabella's black eyes. "What are you going to do? Hurt me? Kill me?" Her voice wasn't taunting or challenging, her tone was curious as she met Isabella's gaze unflinchingly. "I don't care what you do to me... I'm never leaving your side again!"

Isabella wasn't ready for Alice's complete lack of fear, nor did she have an answer to the questions Alice posed to her. She didn't know what she was capable of doing, but she was shook her head immediately at the thought of _hurting_ Alice, or _killing _Alice. The idea of something committing any kind of violence against her sent a jolt through Isabella so intense that it made her shudder. The beast inside her reacted, and her shadows flared out into the forest in a flash.

Alice was plunged into darkness, and all she could see was the outline of Isabella's eyes. It was enough though, and she pushed off the tree and closed the short distance between them. The instant Alice's fingers brushed against Isabella's face something clicked inside, and Isabella recognized the feelings that surrounded her as familiar. It was the same kind of feeling she got when Eliza was hurt or in danger. Only it had a different tenor to it… they were emotions connected to protection... yet they weren't a part of some maternal instinct... they were more primal... less focused... and far more confusing.

The darkness faded, and Isabella's eyes finally returned to the red Alice had grown accustomed to. Then a long silence stretched between them, as Alice dropped her hand to her side but refused to back away.

"Let's head to what remains of the house." Isabella said abruptly, though she held her hand out to Alice.

Alice blinked, surprised at Isabella's sudden suggestion. She was partially lost in the memory of their kiss, and her body was still absolutely on fire with excitement from the sheer intensity of Isabella's embrace. She also felt a touch of relief, her concealed feelings were in the open finally, and Isabella hadn't shied away from them. However, she could see the conflict in Isabella's eyes and had no desire to prod her further than she was willing to go.

Alice smiled shyly at Isabella's extended hand, and took it firmly. Isabella sighed slightly, it was the first time she had done anything to initiate a friendly contact with anyone except her daughters, well except for the two soul searing kisses. Alice's fingers intertwined with Isabella's and she squeezed her hand in a way that let her know that she would follow Isabella no matter where she was headed. Isabella repressed a smile, relishing the feel of Alice's hand in hers.

"Welcome to the... family." Isabella's voice was very small and soft. She still wasn't sure about Rosalie and Emmett, but Isabella couldn't deny that Alice was a part of her now. Even if she didn't exactly know what that meant.

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**Author's note: Woohoo. LONG chapter!**

**1) I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was a fun one to write. I was really looking forward to the aftermath. I know updates are coming slower but that's because work has gotten way busier. **

**2) I hope those of you who are screaming at us for some Bellice are pleased with this chapter as well :P It has been a long time coming. However, I shall once again caution you. They're not all lovey dovey yet. Isabella's issues's stand. But the two of them are fun to write!**

**3) A couple of broad thanks yous, Chaseherchiss, Neb87, Quintana2, viciousviolet, Iheartdanradcliffe and Mary Ali Cullen. I've not shouted out to you before but I see your reviews for every chapter and they're substantive and appreciated! Thank you! It's reviewers like you that make writing this worth while. **

**4) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: I'm starting to feel sorry for poor deluded Edward... okay I couldn't keep a straight face, he's a total asshat and deserves everything he gets. Speaking of which since Rosalie went all mafia knee breaker on him, we had to have Bella one-up her a little. Sorry if it felt a little too Goku... we honestly couldn't resist. I hope you all liked the chapter, I know we'll try to get the next one out faster.**

**5) Thank you to Samantha for her hard work once again. I've had a few people ask me privately why I call her my co-author and not my beta. It's because she is FAR more than a beta. Huge sections of chapters are written exclusively by her. If there was a way to link this story to both of us. I totes would. We're a team. Neither one of us is in charge. When we get to a plot point or dialogue or issue that the two of us don't agree on, we argue and dither until one or the other agrees. She is AMAZING, and not just because she hasn't tried to reach through the computer screen and smother me to death with a pillow in my sleep. **

** 6) Please read and review! We still have a goal of 5k reviews. O_O which is a ton. especially considering... that i can't even say for sure we're at the halfway point yet. **

**Next Chapter: Leah and Eliza, also another meeting of the minds.**


	37. I've got something to say

**Chapter 37  
(This one earns the M rating folks!)**

**Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete**  
**I'll take your invitation, you take all of me now**

**I'm falling even more in love with you**  
**Letting go of all I've held on to**  
**I'm standing here until you make me move**  
**I'm hanging by a moment here with you**  
**I'm living for the only thing I know**  
**I'm running and not quite sure where to go**  
**And I don't know what I'm diving into**  
**Just hanging by a moment here with you**

**There's nothing else to lose, there's nothing else to find**  
**There's nothing in the world that can change my mind**

Eliza slowed as she came out of the forest. She enjoyed running but didn't really want to approach any of the wolf shifter's houses running like a maniac. Jacob was outside the house she recognized from her mother's memories. He was already outside, behind the house, chopping firewood. Eliza couldn't help but smirk slightly. Jacob still had his shirt on, even though it was currently drenched in sweat. Eliza's smile widened as she thought about it. It was a bit surprising to see him clothed, after dredging up what seemed like thousands of images of him without out a shirt on from the shared memories with Isabella.

She wasn't sure if it was a common trait among male shifters, but he seemed to be almost allergic to shirts... or maybe it was the cotton or polyester, but then they wouldn't like pants either. She was half tempted to pursue this line of thought, searching through all of Isabella's memories of the pack to see if there was a trend, but she shook it off as inconsequential and pointless.

Although as she looked up at him from the slight incline of the hill leading up to his house, she noticed the very nice lines of his muscles at they pressed against his sweat soaked top. If forced to take a stance, she would have concede the point that he did have a very nice chest, certainly the best of any one hundred year old man she'd ever met. Not that he had anything on Leah's body. The thought of that made her smile, and nearly stumble over the rough mud leaden ground.

"You know they have perfectly good artificial logs that burn for dozens of hours, why waste your time?" Eliza called out just after she broke the tree line and started up the modest hill towards the house. She announced her presence to him out of respect, because she didn't want to seem like she was sneaking up on him. Not that she thought he was unaware of her approach, especially since she had made no special effort to conceal herself.

"Call me old fashioned. I do it to clear my mind and relieve stress, also it just feels good." Jacob said as he brought the axe down hard, splitting the thick cord of wood he'd just set on the tree stump.

"Aren't you supposed to be like on patrol or something?" Eliza asked feeling slightly playful as she walked up to him.

Jacob bent down, picking up another round piece of wood, and set it on the stump. "I have lots of pack members out on patrol. There is always someone close enough to howl a warning if there's trouble, or if someone in the pack needs help. Right now I have most of them out chasing their tails to find the source of this strange animal scent that's been cropping up all over the forest the last few days. It's probably nothing, but it's not a smell they've run across before, so we're being thorough. You know, it's kind of funny, but for a long time I thought wolf howls were just instinctual gibberish. After a century as a wolf, I can understand every sound one of us makes, I can even make out the calls of real wolves. It saves some time on communication. Mind you I'm kind of unique there not even Leah knows them all, but I am the alpha... and I'm rambling. What did you need Eliza?" Jacob sighed before hefting the axe over his head again to bring it down on another cord of wood. Then he paused and looked her in the eyes.

"How is she?" Jacob set another piece to be split, and asked between swings. He was breathing somewhat heavily but was still barely winded from the effort. He would have asked sooner but Eliza's presence and relatively good mood let him know that Isabella had probably shown improvement, or perhaps something even better, actual consciousness. Not that he thought she would be the same as before, no one could survive that level of injury and come out unscathed. Hell, he was told the fact that she'd regenerated at all was miraculous.

"She woke up about two hours ago." Eliza couldn't stop the smile that broke across her face, she felt relieved and overjoyed just to be able to say the words.

Jacob let out a deep sigh of relief, and tried to push down his feelings of guilt. He hadn't gone to see Isabella even once during her recovery. He had good excuses; Bree had warned Leah of an attack, and he didn't want to leave his home unprotected. Especially since Seth, who was the only officer on the Reservation's police force, was still recovering from his injuries. Also he didn't feel the need to provoke the Cullens, because Leah had visited Eliza for hours every day. What he didn't want to admit was the fact that Isabella's charred and skeletal body scared him more than anything he'd ever seen before. He'd glimpsed enough through the snippets of images gleaned clearly enough from both Seth and Leah's minds. "And, she's… you know… okay? Physically and mentally?"

"She's fine actually, she... she's making out with Alice." Eliza blurted out in surprise as the emotions flooded across the connection her from her Mother. She automatically clapped her hands over her mouth, embarrassed that she didn't have the presence of mind to hold in that little fact. The immediate guilt made her curse herself, she shouldn't have told anyone, much less one of Isabella's oldest friends. Isabella was a deeply private person, and she would've been marginally horrified to have that level of personal information blabbed about so flippantly.

Yet, Jacob was considered to be an extended member of the family for all intents and purposes. Even if Isabella hadn't made that point abundantly clear to Eliza, deep within her Mother's memories it was painfully clear that Jacob had taken on the role of protector when she'd been abandoned and left to fend for herself by the Cullens. He was also a natural leader, and it felt right and natural to talk to someone who knew Isabella when she was still human. In a very real way, he symbolized a tangible connection to Isabella's previous life.

Eliza realized in that moment, that subconsciously, she had always known that Jacob's mere presence in their lives was probably doing more good towards healing Isabella's fractured psyche than just about anything else she could of think of. Well, almost anything... Alice coming back in her life was high on that list as well, and so was the fact that they would eventually crush Edward like a bug.

He was also a connection to Isabella's human father. A man that Eliza had never met, and would never meet because she knew he was a victim of Victoria's Machiavellian vengeance. Isabella didn't really turn towards those fuzzy human memories very often, but Eliza had spent time getting to know the man who was basically her grandfather. Charlie Swan, Police chief and father.

It was amazing how much Isabella remembered about him, little things that seemed meaningless, the tone of this voice and the shape of his mouth under that thick dark mustache, and wrinkles around his eyes when he gave her that unmistakable expression of unconditional love. Unfortunately, all of those memories were powerful emotional triggers for Isabella, that set off bouts of deep self-loathing and unrelenting guilt. No matter how Eliza tried to phrase it, or explain it to her, Isabella blamed herself for Charlie's death.

At Eliza's blunt and unexpected comment, Jacob jerked slightly in surprise. Unfortunately he was in mid axe swing, and not only missed the piece of wood he was trying to split, he buried the axe deeply into the stump he was using as a base. With a heavy frown, he let go of the axe, leaving it wedged so far into the stump that no human could pry it out without tools. He looked down at it in frustration and straightened. Then clenched his hands a few times to work out some muscle tightness that this particular form of exertion brought about. This gave him a chance to gather his thoughts, before looking up to respond.

"I hope she knows what she's doing. I don't want to see her hurt again, last time she was crushed, heaven knows what would happen this time if they go away again." Jacob paused taking it in. Then shook his head, "I can't say I'm particularly surprised though." He glanced down at his hands, the redness from the manual labor was fast disappearing from his palms.

"Um... really? I'm kind of happy, and totally gob smacked about it to be honest." Eliza took a few pointless breaths, then frowned "Wait… what do you mean ? Why aren't you surprised?"

Jacob shrugged a little bit, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "Just a feeling I used to get. I was in love with Isabella for a long time, then I imprinted on Tekali and all that just fell away. Still… when you think about someone as much as I thought about her, and watch and obsess about her as much as I did, certain things kind of sink in. She refused to talk about asshat... Edward. He was this dominating presence in her life. She seemed to base her entire self worth on their relationship, to the point that she was torn apart by his leaving… or at least that's what it felt like at first."

He intentionally paused a moment to take a deep breath and let it out, stretching his arms and twisting his upper body left and right. "After a while she would only really mention the family, and Alice. She confessed to me once that she used to e-mail Alice, like some kind of twisted ghost pen pal. She would say, 'I know Alice will see them in her visions, because I tried to send them that's how her power works. So she'll know what they say when she looks in on me.' If it were just that I don't think I would've noticed, but little things just like that started piling up with other details. When Sam originally found Bella in the forest, she mumbled a bunch of stuff in her delirium, but one thing she said most often was 'Alice isn't coming back.'"

"When she would occasionally talk about them, I noticed it was almost always stories about Alice she related. So them, being together. It just adds up. Alice was always who she truly missed. You'd know better, but I'm not sure she really understood that herself though. Maybe it was easier to see it from the outside looking in. Although she wasn't always the best at thinking about herself... or... that she was able to think that clearly about the Cullens at all." Jacob spoke the last bit hesitantly as he gestured for Eliza to follow him, and then lead her back towards the house.

Once inside Eliza found herself in his smallish kitchen. She had just taken in the gas stove and original tile backsplash when he quickly pulled off his shirt and picked up a dry dishtowel to sponge off his excess sweat. She made a icky face, since she had never sweated like that in her entire life, but she was also smirking inwardly. She'd been in his presence for less than five minutes and he was already shirtless. Then he moved over to the fridge, and stood by it for a moment to cool down. After a few seconds, he leaned down and pulled out a beer, then he looked up at her questioningly, "You want one?"

"Not really my thing. So you think it's mutual? I never saw that coming." Eliza said mostly to herself. "I'm not sure what you mean though. I've only ever known her as she is now."

"Well, she was different... always slipping off into this little dream world, staring off into space, and not really absorbing what was going on around her. Charlie even tried to send her to counseling, but she refused, I don't think she cared about herself at all. Of course there was the other stuff. For a while she would go off and pull silly and dangerous stunts just for the hell of it, before she disappeared I wondered if she had a death wish. Afterwards, when we couldn't find her... there were some doubts as to whether or not she was taken or had left and gotten herself killed.." Jacob didn't look at her as he spoke, opting to focus on reaching into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys, and using the attached bottle opener to pop off the old fashioned metal cap on the beer bottle.

"Hmph. Those memories never really made sense to me, the cliff diving and such. I guess it doesn't matter now though. I'm just so very happy for her, but should I be worried?" Eliza asked tentatively. It was a concern that had been preying on her mind since she felt their first kiss, and after this new one, she really didn't have anyone else she could talk to about it.

Jacob frowned a little bit taking a deep gulp of his beer before taking the time to respond. "I'm honestly not sure how to answer that. This Bella is so different than the one I remember. Stronger, harder, but… if you're asking me about my honest opinion? Bella needs someone. No offense, but someone who fills a different role than that of a daughter. Taking into account how I believe she felt about Alice way back when...even if she didn't realize it at the time… let's just say, I think this was inevitable. I just don't want to see her hurt again. So Alice better be good to her, or that le- vampire will find out just how truly dangerous the Alpha of the Quileute's is."

"You'll have to beat me there." Eliza snorted as she leaned her hip against a counter.

"Anyway, what brings you down here?" Jacob asked realizing that he was having a one on one conversation with Eliza for the first time since they'd met.

"The Volturi. They broke the alliance; and when we wouldn't go along with it they blew us up. Mom wants you to try and call a council tonight. Also… I wondered if anyone in the pack wanted to be there for Henry's funeral? I know you didn't know him all that long or anything, but he was a good man and…" Eliza trailed off somberly, and felt her chest tighten slightly from a twinge of unexpected grief.

"I'll ask around." Jacob said nodding, clearly signaling that if nothing else, he would be there. He gave her a look that asked wordlessly if that was all.

"Well, I'll be up at the hou... smoking ruins." Eliza said after a moment's awkward pause, starting to turn and head out the door.

"Now for something completely different." Jacob said, as his eyes fixed on Eliza before she could turn away completely.

Eliza smiled at the reference, but Jacob's steely glare stifled any amusement she took from it. "Leah."

"What about her?" Eliza narrowed her eyes at him, and her voice turned cautious.

"What's going on between the two of you? From the outside, it looks like you're just leading her along like a carrot on a string. Are you just gonna keep teasing her?" Eliza stared at him, more than a little offended.

"Pardon? I've only known Leah for a little while, and I'm still trying to figure it all out! How the hell is it any of your..." She started indignantly.

Jacob cut her off."No, you've had enough time to figure it out. You don't need months to puzzle through it, it's not quantum physics. If you like someone, you either let them in or you push them away. You can't leave her in limbo like this."

"You have no ri-" Jacob cut her off again, and suddenly Eliza understood what Carlisle must've felt every time she had cut him off.

"Don't bother being offended, I don't give a shit about your feelings." That hung in the air for a few seconds, as Eliza stared at Jacob with more than a little bit of hostility.

Jacob sighed slightly. "Sorry, that didn't come out at all like I wanted it to." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "If Tekali were here she'd kick my ass for saying that. I just meant I don't care enough about your feelings not to say what I think you need to hear. Goddamnit that's not right either. I _mean_, what I have to say, is important enough, that I don't care if I offend you."

He deflated slightly, and slumped into a chair, wondering if he'd just done far more harm to their relationship than good. Jacob decided he might as well go for broke. "Look! It's just that, Leah. She's one of my oldest and dearest friends. So It's absolutely within my right to get in the face of the person who's driving her crazy. She's been patient, but she's… not like most of the rest of us. A lot of us can enjoy the pack, enjoy the transformation. They think an imprint is inevitable, which it seems to be, but they're okay waiting for it. I waited sixty years before I found Tekali. I admit I got lonely sometimes, but I was okay. Leah... she's wanted to be with someone almost to the point of desperation even before the first time she phased. Hell she was desperate, especially after Sam abandoned her. You have no idea how hard the years have been for her while she's waited for you. As long as you've been _alive_, she's been _alone_."

Eliza was going to protest, to argue, she was even prepared to deck Jacob for his bluntness, but she couldn't find it anywhere inside herself to even start. She wanted to shout in his face that she'd been alone that entire time too. But she hadn't… not really. She'd had her Mom with her, her entire life. While not a romantic presence, she was a constant presence in Eliza's life. And Eliza had spent years just soaking up any life she could. She hadn't really felt the pang of loneliness of wanting any sort of mate until sometime in the past few years, and even then it wasn't a major driving need. She didn't know how to define what she really felt, but Eliza was honest enough with herself to know that she wanted to let Leah in. Her response to his little speech was a soft question, "Where is she?"

"She's at the Reservation cemetery, visiting her parents." Jacob tried to keep his lopsided grin in, but he couldn't. He couldn't stand another day of Leah's internal debate about Eliza, even if it was totally warranted angst; and while he was sure his wife was going to take him to task for his approach later, he'd be able to withstand the assault if his gamble worked.

Eliza looked towards the front door and dithered for a moment before turning around with a clearly indecisive expression on her face. She realized that for once, she had no idea what to do, nor even how to start, since she'd never been in this situation before. It wasn't the kind of question she couldn't ask her mother, since she knew for a fact her mother's experience in this sort of thing was questionable or non-existent at best. She certainly wasn't comfortable enough with Rosalie or Emmett to go asking one of them. Alice seemed like she was almost as much of a mess as her Mother, and Bree knew less than she did. She bit her lower lip a little and shuffled in place awkwardly.

"What do I do?" She asked after several long seconds of empty silence. Her voice was soft, almost plaintive and sounded utterly lost. For just a moment, because of her expression, her voice, and the physical similarities between the two, Jacob could have sworn he was talking to the Bella he remembered.

He blinked and turned his head towards the ceiling for a moment in thought. It had never occurred to him that she was completely inexperienced, even though Isabella had alluded to it at one point. Eventually he shrugged and leaned against the fridge. "If you like her, I mean really like her, you need to let her know. She promised you not to pressure you, or make you feel like she's trying to rush things. So you need to make the first move. My advice is let her get as close to you as she desperately wants to be. I'm not saying you gotta go and declare your undying love for her or anything, but god if anyone deserves it, it's her."

"That's just it, I don't _exactly _know how I feel." Eliza took a few deep breaths. She knew she was exaggerating her anxiety, but it did help her focus a little. And at least it let Jacob know how serious she was taking this. She felt a ball in her stomach starting to form, and she realized how accurate her statement was. She had no clue how she was supposed to explain her feelings, since she couldn't even define them to herself.

"So you really haven't dated before." When Eliza looked up at his statement, he shrugged slightly. "Isabella said something about you being isolated and unexposed to the world to a large degree. No offense." Jacob frowned slightly as he spoke.

"None taken. I've... well... not really no." Eliza looked down, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"This… that's... this… is actually really funny." Jacob tried to hold in the laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation as it struck him, even though he didn't want to her to think he was mocking her, or god forbid laughing at her. She might very literally be able to tear him apart in a second, that brought his laugh up short as he coughed his laugh away. The cover didn't work and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hey!" She said indignantly. She was equal parts angry and hurt at the idea of Jacob laughing at her when she'd just revealed something very private. She rarely let herself be this open and vulnerable.

"Sorry. I just found it.. amusing you're what like seventy years old right, and you haven't even been in a single real relationship? That's just…" Jacob was going to say 'sad', but stopped himself. In truth he did feel a sudden pang of sympathy for her, so his forced his goofy grin down into a half grimace. Eliza didn't buy it.

Jacob sighed and looked at her, his smile now gone completely. If they had gone for nearly three quarters of a century without any physical contact... he didn't want to think about what that would do to them. Even Leah had the occasional fling. Though Jacob knew in Leah's case it was more of a desperate attempt to reach for some sort of vague and temporary connection, a moment of human contact more than any sort of interest in anyone in particular. She never would admit it openly, but the clarity of an imprint was something she wished for with every fiber of her being. When it finally happened, something she desperately needed clicked into place for... he could feel it every time they were both phased.

"I don't need to put up with this." Eliza said feeling more than a little offended. She knew why she had kept to herself all these years. In part she felt that she had to stay separate from the world so that she didn't inflict romantic emotions on her mother. She also had her own issues to work though. Joham's legacy made her an alien to normal society. The concept of sharing something so intimate was an odd and frustrating concept. Isabella didn't exactly help there, she was about as removed from a normal social experience as was possible. Eliza just didn't have the heart to explore beyond her mother's limited interests very far.

Only now, with Isabella finally starting to open up for the first time, Eliza was suddenly free to pursue whatever romance she saw fit, and it frightened the hell out of her. It left her remaining excuse, being an alien among normal people no longer held the same appeal. Especially with Leah in her life. Here was someone that would never question her, and would love her no matter who she was. It was, in truth, a terrifying ideal to live up to. Her first relationship was likely to be her last and only.

"I'm sorry, really sorry. I couldn't resist, but seriously… I need you to figure out what you want. Because if you're just stringing Leah along, keeping her in the dark, wondering, and hanging on to a dream of hoping that one day, down the road, you'll let her in and be hers... only to dash that entirely. That would be cruel beyond measure. You should break it off now, and make it clean. Or suck it the fuck up and kiss her already..." Jacob blinked a few times before taking a swig of beer and rolling his eyes.

"I can't believe I'm giving dating advice to Bella Swan's vampire daughter, on how to date a werewolf." Jacob rubbed his face dramatically, and couldn't help but shake his head at the supreme twist of irony.

"Wolf shifter, the distinction is important." Eliza said almost absently, as she corrected that little detail for what seemed like hundredth time. She was tired to being the only one to get the distinction, and she would have made a bigger deal of it if not for the fact that Leah dominated her thoughts. Jacob's words... as blunt and caustic as they were, rang in her mind like a annoying bell. Then she realized with a start, that he was right.

"Fine, wolf shifter. Whatever. That doesn't make it less weird." Jacob sighed, he really didn't care about the semantics.

"As long as that's clear. Are you coming to the funeral?" Eliza quickly added, because she had almost completely forgotten that the shifters had spent quite a bit of time in the house, and some of them might've been as fond of Henry as she was.

Jacob nodded in confirmation. She nodded in acknowledgement somberly. "See you there."

Eliza gave Jacob a friendly but sober smile, and then turned on her heel and bolted out the door. She knew what she had to do, no matter how impossible it seemed to her. Jacob watched her go and took another big swig of cold beer, before turning back towards the wall to access the land line.

Quil picked up after a few rings. "Hello?"

"Start the phone tree, need to call a council meeting tonight." Jacob said with a slight sigh, he wasn't looking forward to the news that Isabella was gonna drop on them. He also wasn't looking forward to the scolding Tekali was going to give him if the conversation he had just had, ended up scaring Eliza away from Leah, rather than opposite. If his meddling caused the whole thing to blow up in his face, Tekali would kick his ass.

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"So I finally met her Mom. Yes... she's a she...and if you could meet her, I really think you'd like her too.. Her name is Eliza. She's Isabella's daughter, can you believe it? Not only did Isabella Swan survive, she gave Charlie that grandkid he always wanted. I know it was hard without him, I haven't told Isabella about that night yet... I'm kind of afraid to. She's a little scary. Anyway, Eliza... She's more than I ever could have imagined. She's strong, and smart… and beautiful. She makes me laugh, and she's everything I hoped she would be. I bet even dad would like her, she is a total geek like him, and she's not ashamed of it at all. There's one thing though, she's kind of a vampire. I know, I didn't think that was possible either. I guess Sam and Billy were wrong. The weird thing is she's different, I mean she's nothing like the vampires in our history. I'm not really sure how that works and... I don't know what to do. I'm so lost Mom." Leah kept her voice low, and she tried not to sound too vulnerable and plaintive. She was kneeling in the soft grass by the headstone, tracing the letter's of her mother's name again and again.

"The thing is, Eliza's not doing so good right now. Isabella is in a coma, and I can't be there for her like I want to be. She's so hurt, and all I want to do is hold her. But… ever since her Mom was hurt, she barely seems aware of anything around her. I know that's selfish, but I can't help it. I need her, and I can't stop this feeling I'm forced to keep bottled deep down in my stomach. We aren't even together, actually I don't know if we'll ever be together. I'm okay with that, I can just be her friend. It's just hard, I don't know if I could handle seeing her with someone else." Leah closed her eyes, and shed a single tear which she quickly wiped away. She refused to be a whimpering love struck fool. That's why she had come to visit her parents. She had been visiting them for over half a century, whenever hurt and loneliness became too much. Still, she couldn't help but smile a little at the fact that she hadn't felt the need to come since she'd imprinted on Eliza.

"Seth imprinted too. On Eliza's adopted sister Bree, I know vampire family dynamics are little confusing. Though I also know they're not normal even by vampire standards… but they are a family. Things are kind of insane lately, but I don't want you to worry. I know you would, but you shouldn't. I'm going to take care of her, and I'll keep an eye on Seth too. Don't worry about me, I'll be okay. Even if things don't work out, I know she'll try not to hurt me. She's really good like that. I love you Mom... Dad. I miss you both every day." She touched a kiss to the cold stone over each of their names, and then stood. Then as she turned around she came face to face with Eliza who looked at her with wide eyes.

Leah examined her face for a few moments before closing the distance between them with a worried expression on her face. "Is she…?"

Eliza blinked and shook her head wildly, changing her expression immediately, realizing that she must've looked crazed. "No, no... she's fine. Totally fine. Actually the coven just…" Eliza trailed off and shook her head, taking a calming breath. "I actually came here looking for you. I wanted a chance to talk…" Then she shifted her head to the side of Leah to look at the graves behind her.

Leah shifted nervously as Eliza shifted her attention from her to her parent's graves and then back up at her. Her eyes widened in surprise when Eliza spoke up softly, her expression serious. "So are you going to introduce me?"

Leah blinked in surprise and blushed hotly, knowing from that comment that it meant that Eliza had heard at least some of the one way conversation she'd been having. "I… we… are you sure?" Leah's voice was very soft and nervous, though she tried unsuccessfully to repress a small smile from crossing her face.

Eliza nodded, her expression solemn. "You've met my Mom, I'd like to meet your parents."

Leah blushed further, but reached out and took Eliza's hand and turned to walk back the short distance to her parent's graves. When they were close, Leah crouched down and pulled Eliza with her so they were eye level with the gravestones. Her voice came out tentative and emotional, long dried up sadness colored her words crossed with a lot of butterflies and nerves. "Mom… Dad… There's someone here I'd like you to meet. This is Eliza Swan. Eliza, these are my parents; Harry and Sue Clearwater."

Eliza nudged Leah's shoulder with her own, and then touched each gravestone in turn. Then she put on her best smile and squared off her shoulders. "Hi… I'm Elizabeth Renee Swan, though I usually just go by Eliza." She glanced over at Leah nervously before continuing. "I haven't known your daughter very long. Already though, I can say with absolute certainty that she's amazing, and incredibly special. I... I had a really rough time this past week and Leah helped me so much more than she realizes. You would've been really proud of her." Eliza knew she was speaking as much to Leah as to the gravestones, and somehow it made things easier to say. She felt Leah squeeze her hand tightly as she complimented her.

Leah smiled at the gesture, and squeezed Eliza's hand in return. "I'm so glad you all could meet formally, I hope you don't mind if I bring her back again sometime." She stood up to leave again, but Eliza lingered.

Although Eliza started to whisper in a nearly inaudible murmur, Leah could just make out her words, and it made her frown because of their ambiguity.

"I'm glad I showed up. I promise, I'll do my best not to hurt her." Eliza stared at their engraved names for a few seconds, taking in the shape of the letters and the dates they died. Leah had been alone for far too long.

Eliza moved over to Leah who was waiting with a puzzled and partially worried expression. They started to walk away from the graves in silence before Leah couldn't take it the unanswered question anymore and fixed Eliza with a nervous, uncertain, and curious expression. "Are you okay? That... didn't bother you or freak you out or anything, did it?"

Eliza frowned and shook her head. Eliza had been deep in thought when Leah spoke, and she had startled her out of her internal reverie. After a moment, taking in Leah's conflict, she shrugged feeling awkward. "No. I mean, I'm okay, and I loved meeting them. It just reminded me. Charlie has one next to his house, I visited it when we got here. Mom was so distracted with stuff that she didn't notice, thankfully. When she cr... came back to Forks after being turned she found the stone. That's how she ended up with the Volturi, she had nowhere else to go. So no, it might've been bittersweet... but it meant something to me. It just that I... sorta came here because I wanted to talk to you. Although, um, this might not be the greatest place though." She looked around a little unsure of her surroundings.

Leah's heart dropped in her chest, and her mouth went dry, not trusting herself to speak, she nodded once, doing her best to keep her face impassive. She gestured for Eliza to follow her, and it was nearly a minute later when she felt she could keep a steady voice. "I'm staying at Seth's house, we could go there."

Eliza nodded, thinking that was as good a place as any. She was still trying to figure out how to put her thoughts and feelings into words. Unfortunately that made her so lost in thought that she was completely silent as they headed down the gravel path to the main entrance to the cemetery. She wasn't aware that her silence was sending all the wrong messages to Leah as they walked.

Leah was struggling to keep her composure. Eliza seemed to be exhibiting all the signs of psyching herself up for a "It's not you, it's me" speech; and Leah was trying to determine if there was anything that she had done wrong, something that forced Eliza to come to a negative decision.

As they came to the gate at the main entrance of the cemetery, a well maintained black motorcycle came into view. Eliza ran her eyes over it almost absently. "I like the bike... Oh God… mine's probably melted! God damnit! I really liked that bike too." Eliza's expression shifted from admiration to horror as she spoke. Visions of a twisted pile of wreckage dominated her thoughts for a few seconds, threatening to pull up the worst of the trauma from the previous week. So with some concerted mental effort she pushed it away, along with the ocean of conflicted emotions that went along with thoughts of the explosion.

The small snippets of memories she'd picked up from Bree were enough to send her into a minor anxiety attack. Eliza almost refused to believe that the blackened husk of bones that Bree had seen were really Isabella. In a lot of ways she was glad she was unconscious for that part. When she had awakened; seeing her mother's emaciated condition was bad enough.

What was so much worse for Eliza was the complete emptiness she felt when she woke up. The empty void where she was so used to feeling her Mother, her absence was terrifying. Even when they weren't speaking over their mental link her mother was always present in some way. That feeling of her. Just knowing she was there, was a constant comfort that Eliza hadn't realized was an absolute cornerstone of her life, until it was gone.

Leah was quiet as she started to accept the inevitable. She slid onto the bike, and felt some of her old bitterness return to her, although that old anger faltered slightly when Eliza climbed on behind her, and without comment wrapped her arms around Leah's waist. The closeness brought Eliza's mind back to the dilemma at hand. Eliza hadn't really been this close to Leah before, pressed tightly against her back with her arms wrapped around her. She had almost refused the offer for a ride, since she could move faster than the bike, but then she realized they needed to go together, so she accepted the offer at the last second.

They didn't bother with helmets, as they sped off deeper in to the Reservation toward the residential area. It took Eliza a second to realize that no one was going to care because it was probably common to see Leah and the Pack ignore the usual safety laws, since most of the Reservation was used to the presence of their supernatural protectors. That thought didn't even cross Leah's mind, since she knew that they weren't in danger of being pulled over. Seth was Reservation police, and he learned his lesson the last time he tried to pull her over as a prank. Jacob and Tekali yelled at them both for an hour because they'd damaged the police car in the ensuing squabble, though that had been years and years ago.

As they approached the house, Eliza was relatively surprised that it was pretty much the same as Eliza had seen in her mother's memories, although the solar panels and hydro-filter on the side of the house were new. The paint wasn't even faded, it seemed semi-fresh, so it was clear Seth kept the house up on the outside.

Seeing Eliza's glance at the hydro-filter and solar panels, Leah murmured quietly, "We try to be as self-sufficient and as _green_ as possible. We started using solar panels for the houses, finished up that project a few years ago."

Eliza nodded absently as they got off the bike, and she followed Leah wordlessly into the house, only to discover that the inside of the house was a completely different story than the outside. Where the outside was relatively neat and tidy, the inside was a hodge-podge collection of furniture collected and restored from the last hundred years. The dichotomy was odd to say the least. Yet most of the decorations hadn't changed since Isabella had been human.

"Does Seth ever bother decorating with the times?" Eliza asked as she examined one of the glass gnomes sitting under a thick layer of dust on top of a very old upright piano.

Eliza picked the little hideous bauble up, and brushed it off while examining it closely as she turned it over in her hand a couple of times before setting it down. She had never seen anything like it before.

"That was Mom's. Seth doesn't like to touch their stuff. He was very close to them, and I don't think he's ever really gotten over them dying." Leah said quietly. Then she watched as Eliza scanned around room several times, it was like she was memorizing every object.

"I'm sorry. I don't exactly have biological parents. I killed my bio-mom and if I have anything to say about it, my sperm donor will be dead the next time I see him." Eliza kept her expression neutral, because she didn't want those emotions to show on her face. The guilt she's always felt from the death of her mother, a woman she had never met, and who's name she would never know, welled up inside her. As always it was partnered with the total unrelenting hatred she felt for her biological father.

"Yeah... I still have no idea how to respond to that one." Leah looked down at her hands and busied herself examining her fingers for dirt under her nails. It was definitely more to give herself something to do besides stare at Eliza, than it was any sort of vanity on her part. After a second or two she realized that it felt marginally silly, so she let her arms drop to her sides. Then she tried looked around the room for anything to catch her attention, but there was nothing that she hadn't seen a thousand times.

Reluctantly she had to return her attention towards Eliza, and as she brought her eyes up to tentatively meet Eliza's again, she unexpectedly felt that same rush of delight whenever she took in her features. Just being in Eliza's presence was enough to set her skin tingling, her heart to beat twice as fast, and her body trembling in preparation for something that wasn't going to happen. Now it was combined with the nervousness of this '_talk_' that Eliza wanted to have. Leah was working overtime to keep herself from looking like an emotional wreck.

"It kind of sucks. Not that they matter to me at all. Isabella is my family... and Bree. God it's so weird to think of her as family. It's strange… that not much actual time has passed, even though so much has happened since we took her in. In a lot of ways were all still strangers. At the same time she's jumping in with both feet. She really wants to be part of a family. No… she really wants to be a part of _our_ family." She checked the connection to make sure her wall was still up. She didn't want Bree to think that she didn't want her around, and at the same time, she didn't want her currently whirling emotions to be broadcast to either Bree or her mother.

"That has to be frustrating and interesting all at once." Leah felt a sting of pain at the truth of Eliza's past. She had heard it before, but it still bothered her, mostly because she knew that Eliza blamed herself for everything.

"A little honestly. I do my best to... mostly... really I just don't think about it." Eliza shrugged and deliberately changed topics, at the same time she was doing her level best to avoid the one thing she really did want to talk about. "So! In other news. Since the Volturi tried to blow us up, we decided that we didn't like that, and so we've declared ourselves our own Coven. The Swan Coven!" Eliza's voice was full of mirth at her own comment.

"Of course when we left the Cullens house, Alice joined us, not entirely shocking there I guess, but so did Rosalie and Emmett." Eliza rolled her eyes slightly, she still hadn't seen that one coming, and was glad that she wasn't the only one that had been surprised by it.

"That's not so surprising." Leah replied, taking the news in stride. She couldn't stop a small smile, when Eliza blinked at her in minor frustration or surprise, she wasn't sure of which.

"I was around for the past week. I saw how quickly Rosalie became very protective of Bree. With you founding a new Coven, as long as Bree was a part of it, I'm not at all that surprised that Rosalie would want stay with her. At least that's what it seemed like to me. Seth got to know Bree quite a bit over the week, and his thoughts pretty much confirmed Rosalie's connection to her. He's been very... um, invested in her since the imprint." Leah shrugged a little bit in an offhand manner.

"What is it with you guys? Nothing seems to faze you." Eliza pouted slightly. Leah's casual way of just accepting things as truth seemed slightly at odds with the memories her mother had of the emotional states of the Quileute's. In the past, the wolves were far more volatile, prone to get worked up and fly off the handle at the slightest provocation.

"Hmmm?" Leah was thinking about that new family, and wondering if Seth was going to end up happy; so she only partially absorbed what Eliza asked.

"Never mind. There's going to be a funeral for Henry in about an hour or so I think." Eliza clinched her jaw a little in sadness, and tentatively met Leah's eyes. "That's not why I'm here, though."

Leah raised an eyebrow, she looked around the room again doing her best to keep her composure, so it wouldn't be too hard on Eliza to break this news. She wondered if Eliza was there to tell her that they were leaving, and that after the funeral they'd be gone. In the short stunted conversations they'd had the past few days, Eliza had mentioned that leaving was one possibility when her mother woke up. "Why are you here?" She finally said, proud that her voice only showed a little hint of the strain she felt. She was already tired of dancing around the subject that was so clearly on Eliza's mind.

"I... have absolutely no idea how to start." Eliza was exasperated with herself; she was terrified of something she knew was a sure thing. She had absolutely no doubt that Leah would reciprocate her feelings. The problem in her mind was that she didn't just want Eliza to like her because of some biological imperative that left her without choice. She wanted Leah to like her, to want her for who she was. "What's on your mind?" Leah was worried, Eliza never looked this tense. She was balling herself into a bundle of nerves, it was so unlike her that Leah's first instinct was to reach out and console her, but she resisted the impulse.

"I... Don't know how to say it, god Jake was right. I'm a total spaz... maybe I don't have to say it." Eliza fidgeted a little bit.

Leah had narrowed her eyes at the thought of Jacob saying something like that, her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden rush from Eliza. She darted forward and pulled Leah into a tight embrace. Leah was a little startled, but didn't resist in the slightest, wrapping her arms loosely around Eliza's waist.

She was about to ask what was wrong again, or to say something gently reassuring when without hesitation or warning Eliza pressed her lips against Leah's. Leah's brain short circuited and went into overload from the feeling of Eliza's lips, and the kiss they had been dancing around since they met. Leah lost control as she gave herself into the wave of powerful emotions crashing over her. She wasn't sure this moment was going to come, and didn't fully know how to react now that it had. She wrapped her arms tightly around Eliza's waist, pulling her in close. It was a move that Eliza clearly appreciated because she seemed to melt into the embrace.

They kissed fiercely for several minutes, lost in each other scents and flavors. Tongues intertwined, happily fighting each other for their place in each other's mouth. It was heady and overwhelming, but most of all it was blissful. For Leah, it made every dream she'd had for the past two weeks, and the past century pale in comparison. The girl who had become her entire world at first sight was kissing her. Leah felt her emotions surging, she wanted nothing more than to rip every scrap of clothing off Eliza's body and see how much more intense this feeling could get. If this was how imprints felt when they were together, she couldn't blame them at all for being too saccharine for words.

Eliza didn't care anymore, this felt right on so many levels. She didn't care that her Mother had been going through something similar moments before. She knew that she had lost the ability to concentrate on keeping her emotions from broadcasting so that both her Mom and Bree probably could tell what she was feeling. She didn't care if Bree felt uncomfortable at this sudden presence of strong sexual feelings radiating off her in almost palpable waves. She only cared about how right this felt.

When they finally parted, they were both breathing heavily; Leah for breath, and Eliza to handle the surging emotions inside of her and the suddenly very intoxicating scent of Leah that surrounded her, no enveloped her in a shroud of warmth and passion. When she leaned back slightly to look up at Leah, a strange ache filled her. She wasn't prepared for that kind of emotional connection, this quickly.

Leah moaned in contentment, and leaned her head forward to rest her forehead against Eliza's. Eliza blinked as her eyes met Leah's, startled and speechless at how… raw and beautiful she was in that moment. Her face flushed, her body tense, and her eyes fluttering from adrenaline and the rush of endorphins that only strengthened her already overpowering scent.

Eliza didn't know what to say, or how to act. She just knew there was something deep, and primal that needed to keep going, because Leah was hers. They were together, and they didn't need words or a hesitant discussion about it to formalize things. Jacob's advice came back to her, and she realized that this was it. She was going to be in this for the long haul; and given their potentially limitless lifespan… this was the first day of a proverbial promise of forever.

The pressure of that level of commitment weighed heavily on her mind, but Eliza didn't want to shy away from it. It was as if a light bulb went off above her head, she _wanted_ this. She wanted Leah. Still, they hadn't declared anything beyond the desire to simply be together which is what they both wanted, and she hoped that they had all of the time in the world to explore the deeper side of things.

Eliza shook her head, she didn't want to think about the fact that there might not be a future for them. The Volturi were formidable, and it was very likely her family was about to be torn asunder. "Do we have to stop?" She whispered plaintively, her expression shy as she looked up at Leah.

Desire flashed in Leah's eyes the moment Eliza's words left her mouth. "No... I just wanted to be clear, though. This isn't a fling, or an emotional release because of the last week for you? And I'm not dreaming right? This is real? You're mine now right?"

Leah's gaze bored into Eliza's with an intensity that Eliza had never seen before. She wasn't sure which surprised her more, the gaze itself, or the fact that the intensity excited her. Eliza locked her eyes on Leah's, biting her lip shyly and then nodded a couple of times as she pressed up closer to Leah, using instinct more than artifice to rub herself against Leah slowly.

Leah hesitated only for a second before one hand slid into Eliza's auburn hair, pulling her in for another hungry kiss. She felt Eliza respond, relinquishing control letting her lead. Leah slowly shifted to press her thigh up between Eliza's legs. The move was slow but sure, giving Eliza time to pull back if she wanted. Eliza did the opposite, responding by pressing against Leah's thigh with a soft groan of pleasure.

The two of them rocked together slowly, reveling in the feel of one another's touch before Eliza pulled her head back slightly, though she kept the rest of her body pressed in close and continued to rub slowly against Leah. "I have a confession to make." Eliza whispered as she met Leah's eyes.

Leah met her eyes with a questioning look, letting her speak, and resisting the immediate urge to claim her mouth again. "I'm… I haven't… I mean… I've never… with anyone." Eliza's eyes were on Leah's pleading with her to understand what she was saying, and what confessing it actually meant.

Leah met Eliza's eyes, the intensity in Leah's expression seemed to get deeper as a feral grin crossed her face, before she curled her features into a playful mask, hiding the part of her that was raw nerves and tentative fear. She felt giddy at diving into things so completely. The other more primal part of her wanted to howl with triumph. The idea of being Eliza's first and _only_ made her excited beyond the telling of it. Her heart was beating so quickly, that she couldn't count the beats anymore if she tried.

Then Leah paused, tentative because while she knew she was in for the duration, she wasn't sure Eliza felt the same. That was almost enough to make her pull back. Then she thought of the one word, the perfect and kind of silly concept that would make sense to Eliza. She wanted to groan at the slightly absurd nature of it, but it was exactly what she felt no matter where it came from. She hadn't really gotten into Star Trek, but her Dad had been a fan, and Seth was at one point, and she had been inflicted with it enough that a good chunk of it sunk in.

"Imzadi." Leah murmured quietly as she nudged her nose lightly against Eliza's. She knew that Eliza would get the reference, but she was more than a little embarrassed at what she was sure would be perceived as an awkward and clumsy attempt to play to Eliza's interests.

However Eliza didn't seem to read the awkwardness at all. She was stunned, her mouth open in shock, and her mind racing from the beautiful sentiment behind the word. She was deeply touched, and she tried to move her mouth moved several times in an attempt come up with a way of responding to Leah's wonderful gesture, but she had trouble forming the words to express how much it meant.

It wasn't so much the meaning behind the name itself, but what saying it meant. It meant that Leah cared enough about her, and about her interests to take an interest in them herself. Her deepest question was answered. Leah was interested in Eliza for who she was. Eliza's next motion was almost involuntary. She threw herself forward, her lips connecting hungrily with Leah's again as she pressed in against her with almost too much force. Leah grunted a little, but wasn't about to complain.

She started to laugh but it was quickly stifled by Eliza's heavy kiss. Their hands began to wonder over each other's bodies. Desire quickly morphed into lust, which devolved into something so animalistic, that without thought, clothes were soon being torn from each other's bodies.

Leah had the presence of mind to drag them both out of the living room and down the hall into her room, and retained just enough modesty to slam the door. Eliza on the other hand didn't seem care if the whole world watched. She hadn't even really noticed that Leah was moving them into another room. All that mattered was this dusky skinned woman that had become one of the most important people in the world to her.

Leah shifted her weight once they hit the bed, and spun them around so Eliza was beneath her. Continuing to take charge, Leah spent her time kissing down her jaw line, along her slender graceful neck, to the depression above her collar bone. Eliza had never felt anything like that before, the heat from Eliza's tongue on Eliza's cool skin, played with her sense of touch sending waves of unexpected tingling pleasure down her spine all the way to her toes.

Leah didn't stop, she started to move down her body. Stopping to lavish attention to her nipples. Leah reveled in the chance to touch Eliza so intimately. Eliza took the chance to run her fingers through Leah's dark hair luxuriously. Eliza's soft sighs of pleasure turned into low purrs of bliss as she shifted beneath Leah's tongue.

Leah responded to Eliza's purring with a soft possessive growl of her own, the animalist nature of it only heightened the mood. Her lips trailed down Eliza's rib cage across and over the sensitive skin of her toned stomach, and then along the juts of hip bone just below her waist. Her tongue traced along the ridges of her abdominal muscles. Each touch focused on driving Eliza just a little more crazy.

Leah felt Eliza tense and take a deep breath in anticipation as her lips trailed lower before she shifted and skipped the juncture between her thighs, and instead nuzzled and kiss down to her thighs. She couldn't resist another smile of triumph when she heard Eliza whimper in protest at being teased, even though Eliza made no move to stop her. Instead Leah took her time and worked her way slowly all the way down Eliza's legs.

Then with a grin, Leah worked her way back up Eliza's legs, tongue tracing and caressing the skin as she moved her way back up Eliza's body. This time however she didn't shy away from Eliza's most intimate spot, her tongue instead lingering there, exploring every inch of her. Leah shuddered involuntarily as Eliza bucked, writhed, moaned, and shivered, while she tried everything she could think of to push her pleasure even higher.

Eliza's climax made her scream, hard and long and loud enough to push against the glass of the room she'd barely been aware of, and threaten to shatter it. Eliza shuddered and spasmed for nearly a minute after she came drifting back down from her orgasmic high. Then she lay still, since she couldn't quite seem to make her limbs work for a while after that. Leah slid up into her arms, a wide grin splitting her face as she started to kiss her again. Eliza purred and responded to the kiss, tasting herself on Leah's lips and not minding in the slightest. "Leah?" Seth's voice called out through her bedroom door. His voice sounded amused and innocent..

"Go away!" Leah absently yelled back at her brother, returning to kiss Eliza who seemed to becoming more aware of their surroundings now. She didn't want to stop, she wanted to have all of Eliza now that she was finally hers.

"Can't, the Council wants to go up to the funeral." Seth bellowed back his tone even more amused now.

"I... shit. Give us a few minutes." Leah said clearly irritated. She sighed and rested her forehead against Eliza, who was grinning up at her. While she knew she'd usually be annoyed by her brother's smug tone, currently she was much more annoyed at the thought of getting out of a bed with Eliza in it.

Seth noticed the pronoun usage, but hardly needed that to confirm anything. The cries of loud sex had been easily heard, plus there was a trail of tattered clothes strewn all the way down hallway. "Tell Eliza she can catch a ride if she wants." Seth shouted through the door, a smug grin splitting his face from ear to ear. He had taken a lot of grief from his sister of the years, and he took immense delight in teasing her.

"Go away! You are not too old for me to come out there and beat you senseless!" Leah shouted, her face was bright red, and she looked like she was about to storm out of the room naked to confront her brother. She knew he was teasing her, but she wasn't about to let him get away with it without some sort of response.

"We'll be out front. Oh… and if one of you are missing a shirt, it's hanging from the ceiling fan!" Seth called out filled with more than a little amusement. From the bedroom his voice trailed off as he made his way out of the house. Leah pouted, it was clear that he had won this exchange with his sister.

They heard the front door shut and Leah blushed as she looked at Eliza who was grinning.

"Don't worry. We'll get him back, I promise." Eliza spoke up, amused at the whole situation. She lifted her head to kiss Leah firmly, which had the immediate effect of dissolving her frown.

Eliza had no intention of hiding their relationship, no matter who they were around. She shifted and pressed a soft kiss to Leah's cheek before murmuring in her ear, "Besides, I definitely plan on taking my turn later." Eliza got the response she was hoping for, Leah blushed crimson and a wide smile nervous crossed her face.

She kissed Leah one last time a deep and lingering kiss, letting the contentment of their lovemaking wash over her for the precious few seconds they had left together... for the moment.

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**Author's notes: WOOO O_O long chapter again!**

**For those who are interested, Samantha and I are collaborating on another story. This one is much different than IAL, (Though it will probably be slow in developing and detailed like this story.) It will be a Bellice fic. Since we both totally ship that. But it's a wholly different universe.  
**

**title: Secrets and Covenants**

**www dot fanfiction dot net /s/9082301/1/Secrets-and-Covenants**

**I hope you'll give it a shot!**

**1) This is one of those chapters that turned out nothing like we expected at the start. I typed up something of maybe 1,500 and then another 1000 words for another part we intended to have as part of this chapter. 1500 words to do this entire Eliza/Leah interaction. I HATED it. **

**So I turned it over to Samantha with the plea to do it justice. She looked at the shite i came up with, scrapped it and came back with a chapter with about 4500 words. Then sent it to me. That's where it kinda went off the rails. I sent it back to her with about 10k words. At that point we hadn't even touched the last section. Because of Samantha's advice we put that to next chapter.**

**2)Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Notes: Well I have no excuses this time, it's all my fault. I had a big case of writer's block... yes if you didn't like this chapter blame me I took primary on it. Or if you liked it... hey I'll take all the credit too! Just kidding, it was a collaboration as always. When I submitted my first draft to Kathryn she returned it with nearly double the words. She's totally awesome as always. Until next week!**

**3) This chapter took much discussion and arguing between us! (Though not all was related directly to this chapter. Samantha's patience is AMAZING just like her words!) She is the primary writer on this chapter and I just had the benefit of working off of her start. Having a co-author that is so awesome KICKS ASS.**

**4) I hope you liked the Leah/Eliza interaction, been awhile since we paid attention to them. I'm pretty happy with their relationship. It's likely to be much more playful than Isabella and Alice's. Easier if you will, without being shallow. If that makes sense. **

**5) Special recognition goes out to the new holder of the title "Best Story Review". LilithRyoka put together an AMAZING and in depth review of our entire story. I very much appreciate the time and the effort that such a review took! Thank you! **

**6) I mentioned in my last chapter wanting 5k reviews. A couple people said i was shooting wayyyy high. I don't particularly care. I like setting my sights high. we have 350+ people who've favorited this and over 500 that follow it. If 300 people are nice enough to review every 3 or 4 chapters we'd blow past it! And that's my goal.**

**Not to mention. There's a HELL of alot of story to go. **

**As always, please read and review.**

**Next Chapter: A solemn occasion.**


	38. Preparations and Goodbyes

**Chapter 38**

**Daylight again, following me to bed  
I think about a hundred years ago, how my fathers bled  
I think I see a valley, covered with bones in blue  
All the brave soldiers that cannot get older been askin' after you**

**Hear the past a callin', from Ar- -megeddon's side  
When everyone's talkin' and no one is listenin', how can we decide?**

**Do we find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground  
Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down  
Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground**

The day was overly warm for March, and the air near the house hadn't entirely cleared up. Faint traces of ash danced through the rays of sunlight that filtered down through breaks in the cloud cover. Alice repressed a shudder though, coming up on the house triggered a flashback to what happened. It wasn't exactly a memory she was happy to keep. For the first time she cursed her vampire mind. Then she wondered how Isabella might handle it, and she squeezed her hand in reassurance.

She looked up at Isabella, her eyes tracing the lines of her face as she watched for a reaction in her friend? girlfriend? What were they? When they had talked that first night Isabella had agreed at an attempt at friendship. That night had been less than two weeks ago, but it seems like a lifetime ago. Obviously things had moved beyond that point, and situations had changed, but could they even say they were friends? The two extremely passionate kisses exchanged seemed to say they were more than friends, but were they girlfriends? Not for the first time Alice wished for Edward's gift to read minds, so she could tell what Isabella was thinking. Except, not even Edward could break through Isabella's walls.

Alice was slightly surprised that Isabella didn't seem to show a reaction as the house came into view. While Alice grimaced briefly at the burnt out husk, Isabella's expression didn't so much as twitch. Then a random ray of sunshine managed to push through the clouds, and crossed over Isabella's face, and stayed. The sunshine seemed follow them as they walked, and Alice couldn't stop herself from gasping in breathless awe. The soft glow of Isabella's skin was very different from her own. Alice realized the sun was moving away from her face, so she rooted herself in place, and practically forced Isabella to stop with her.

"I don't understand, what happened to you? How are you so different?" Alice asked without thought to how Isabella would take the questions. She needed to know why Isabella's skin seemed to react so differently in sunlight.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Ever since I bonded with Eliza I've been like this. Her skin reflects light in the same way as mine does, and now so does Bree. It's just one of the differences in our unique physiology. However, this particular change isn't exactly important so it's not something we've spent a lot of time exploring." She shrugged, "I'm sorry I can't explain more." Isabella frowned, and looked down at her free hand which was bathed in sunlight. Then she moved her other one, still gripping Alice's, into the light as well.

The difference between them was startling. Isabella's hand looked almost human in comparison to Alice's which was glittering like thousands diamonds were embedded into her skin. It made her look almost airbrushed, and Alice sighed slightly in contentment at the beautiful image Isabella made in the sunlight.

After closer examination Alice could tell that even though Isabella's skin looked almost human in comparison to hers, that even the most casual of observers would be able to see that glow in sunlight. Obviously no matter what Isabella was, she was still vampire enough that being out in public under bright direct sunshine would be a problem. Alice started turning that revelation over in her mind, when Isabella jerked her hand out of her grasp. Alice looked up at her with a vaguely hurt expression on her face, but it faded when she saw how Isabella's had twisted.

Isabella flinched, closing her eyes tightly, and then she began to rock forward onto balls of her feet and then quickly back onto her heels. She brought her fingers up to cover her eyes and forehead, as if suddenly hit with a massive headache. The raw physical sensations suddenly coming from Eliza had caught Isabella completely and totally off guard.

Isabella pressed her eyes tightly together in concentration for several moments. The sudden incoming stimuli was too much for her to handle, so she tried to block them out. By habit, Isabella had always kept the receiving end of her connection with her daughter more open than Eliza did, like the top of a funnel. It was mostly reassurance so that she would never miss anything, as a instant signal when Eliza was in danger or hurt in battle. Ironically, Isabella was more concerned with her daughter getting hurt, than Eliza ever was about her own safety. Contrarily, Isabella tended to be less concerned with taking the occasional hit in battle, so she got used to closing up her end of the bond enough so that Eliza wouldn't feel it every time someone got in a lucky shot.

Unfortunately in this case, the uneven nature of the connection seemed to backfire causing a veritable flood of new sensations crashing down on Isabella's unready mind. The sudden onslaught of physical stimulus was strange and terrifying, since Eliza was most definitely _not_ getting attacked, well at least not violently. It filled Isabella with a sense of immense contentment that her daughter was so… happy, but it was weird to have to force their connection closed, because Isabella had never needed to work to tune out her daughter before.

To pile conflicted emotions on top of that, Isabella had trouble reconciling her own feelings that Alice was provoking within her. Physical desires, instincts, complex emotions, and now raw sexual sensations and passionate amorous feelings twisted round and round in her head until nothing made sense. She looked down at Alice's hand, which was still lingering in the air, and gave her a frown as she cemented her mental wall which successfully blocked out the unwanted flood coming from Eliza. To her credit, Isabella could tell that Eliza was trying to hold everything in, but she had never experienced anything like what she was sharing with Leah. Isabella almost blushed at the sudden realization that she must've been broadcasting similar emotions and sensations when she kissed Alice, no matter how filtered they might've been.

Isabella took Alice's hand again and shook her head slightly, in what amounted to her best attempt at a reassuring smile. Alice accepted her hand without hesitation or a demand for an explanation. Isabella was relieved, she wasn't sure how she would go about starting a conversation explaining her sudden situation with Eliza. A moment later Isabella started towards the house again, and Alice followed in unspoken confusion.

They found Bree sitting next to Rosalie and Emmett on the surprisingly unmarked stair case that led up to what was left of the front porch. The fire had erased most the structure, but Isabella blew it out in time so that some of the front part remained oddly intact. Beyond some soot stains, the front door and most of the porch looked perfectly normal, it was eerie.

It took Isabella only a brief glance to tell that Bree was out of sorts. She was biting a corner of her lip, keeping her face averted, looking away from Rosalie and Emmett, and not making eye contact with anyone. Rosalie was keeping an eye on her, a curious expression twisted up with concern for the girl, but she wasn't pressuring Bree for any answers. As they got closer Isabella could tell Bree was squirming, her hips shifting subtly on the stairs as if she couldn't find a comfortable position. One thing Isabella could tell without a doubt, was that her face bore an expression of thorough embarrassment.

When she noticed Isabella's approach, Bree stood up to say something and then looked down, her embarrassment cutting off her words before she could even begin to stumble and stutter over the apology that was on her lips. She watched as they got closer, hoping that Isabella's dark expression wasn't meant for her.

Isabella could read the confusion on Bree's face and she did her best to give her as much assurance as she could. She smiled as warmly as she was capable of and said softly, "It's okay."

Like the words had released a dam of pressure, Bree half threw herself forward to wrap her arms around Isabella's waist. "I'm soooo sorry I wasn't trying to spy or anything! But you… and now Eliza… I didn't mean to!"

Isabella wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug, and then she gently shushed her a few times. She realized that Bree must have been inundated, not only with the emotions and sensations that Eliza was currently in the middle of, but the emotions and sensations she herself had probably unconsciously broadcast earlier as well. Isabella met Rosalie's eyes over the top of Bree's head, and Isabella gave her a subtle shake of her head, causing Rosalie to frown a little bit and purse her lips, though she didn't say anything.

"It's okay. It's not your fault, and you weren't 'spying', it's just a part of being in this family. I'm sorry I didn't think about it earlier. Given Eliza's current level of distraction, we probably can't teach you how to shield yourself right now. It's something we'll work on soon. Maybe even tonight if we get a chance." Isabella smiled down at Bree, and then frowned glancing back at Alice as a thought occurred to her.

Isabella wasn't sure what was going to happen with Alice, but part of her had an unsettling feeling that she didn't have much control over what was going to happen anyway. Isabella held Bree for several long minutes, squeezing her several times in a subtle reassuring way before she straightened and let her arm drop with a little sigh, though she noted that Bree didn't release the embrace entirely, settling in to cling to her around her waist. Isabella wasn't sure how to handle the fact that her new daughter seemed to be the physically affectionate type, which was totally unexpected given her history, and was entirely different from what she was used to with Eliza, for whom the occasional hug seemed to suffice.

"We have a lot of work to do if we're going to make this work." She changed the subject hoping to ease Bree's self-consciousness and avoid any embarrassing follow-up questions.

"Make what work? Oh the funeral... I heard you mention that to Eliza I just didn't know what you meant." Bree frowned in minor disappointment in herself, having missed the changed in topic, she felt behind the ball. However she was grateful that her Mother wasn't making a bigger scene out of what happened than Bree herself already had.

She also took a moment to marvel at how easily she'd accepted Isabella in the role of mother. She idly wondered if it was helped along by the bond that they had, or maybe it was because she was just _that_ desperate for any sort of caring family. A third possibility that made her smile, was the fantastic notion that maybe she was destined to be a part of this family. That she was always supposed to be one of them. She shrugged that off as silly, but Isabella gave her a mental hug, she liked that idea a lot.

"Don't worry about it, I know I wasn't explicit since Eliza knew who I meant. We didn't know him long, but Henry needs to be honored." Isabella looked around slowly trying to inventory things in her mind. She had decided that Henry deserved and needed a funeral, unfortunately she only vaguely remembered going to the funeral of one of her grandparents when she was about eight years old. The memories were hazy and indistinct at best, and tinged with the child's viewpoint of life of death.

Her voice came out hesitantly when she finally did come to a decision. "Rosalie would you mind looking for a stone that would be suitable for a headstone. Something relatively large and solid without being grotesque?"

Rosalie raised an eyebrow at the request, but she nodded once, and stood to walk towards the waterfall that was partially visible from the house, to look for one.

Isabella glanced down at Bree. "Why don't you go with her sweetie? It might be fun to crack rocks until you find something that works." Bree smiled up at Isabella widely, and took off towards Rosalie, without another word.

"Emmett, would you like to play in the dirt?" Emmett stood with a big grin, and started searching the area for the right place to dig. He didn't need any second urging from Isabella, and didn't need to be told what exactly he was going to be digging. Mention of the funeral was enough for him. The solemn nature of the request kept him from laughing out loud, or making a wise crack. He quickly zeroed in on the perfect spot near a massive ancient tree, and moved to start digging.

Isabella took a deep breath and motioned with her head towards the rubble. "Alice, can you help me search?" Her voice was soft as she seemed to really _look_ at the burnt remains of the house for the first time.

Alice's expression was puzzled at that, before a look of understanding crossed her face. "Oh god, that's right. He's still in there isn't he?" Alice said half to herself, as she blanched as much as a vampire could. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded once in agreement.

Together they moved into the wreckage, and began to sift through the blackened debris. It didn't take long to find him. They found his remains in the foyer, a mere three feet away from escape. He was mostly skeletal, but thankfully whole for the most part. Still there were several bits and pieces of him that had to be picked up, including his blackened skull which had been torn off his shoulders, hopefully from the force of the explosion and not from any collapsing debris. Isabella hoped that was a sign that his death had been quick and painless, and that he hadn't suffered first.

Once they were certain they had gathered all of his remains, Isabella spent a good deal of time shifting and digging into the rubble down into the basement, retrieving a partially melted tool box from the Bat-cave. Some of the tools inside of it were still useable, having been protected by the half-melted metal.

Then she started sifting through the rubble for suitable pieces of wood. She didn't say anything, just took up her task in silence. Alice watched her with a puzzled expression before she realized what Isabella was doing about five or so minutes into the project, and offered to help. Together they cobbled together a casket that would serve well enough for a proper burial. "He deserved so much more than this but I think if I waltzed into town and waltzed out carrying a coffin over my shoulder, people might start talking."

Alice managed a small smile and murmured, "Even without the implications and dangers of that kind of theft. The larger picture would bring all kinds of strange accusations and suspicions of demons or insinuations about vampires needing coffins... it's all probably a bit much." She was rewarded with a small smile from Isabella. Once they were both satisfied that the casket was significantly sturdy, together the two of them carefully gathered Henry's remains and placed them gently, almost reverently into the box, and closed the lid.

Rose and Bree came back with a very large, almost boulder sized rock, between them. The rock was practically split in two color wise, the top half was so light grey it was nearly white. The bottom was dark and still covered in mud and moss. Isabella watched as Rosalie patiently helped guide Bree in shaping the rock into something that would be usable. Isabella didn't feel the need to offer directions or comments, since Rosalie seemed to be handling it quite well on her own, and seemed to have a good idea of the sort of memorial Isabella had in mind.

The two of them spent several minutes flattening one side so it would sit upright and was in no danger of rolling or shifting, and even longer on another side so that it was as smooth as possible. While they were doing this, Emmett spent about forty minutes playing and digging in the dirt, going a bit deeper than was necessary, but the grunts and chuckles coming from the hole were enough that no one wanted to bother him.

Isabella was rather thrilled that Emmett took to the work without protest or complaint, of course from what she remembered of him it wasn't much of a stretch. What really struck her as odd was how Rosalie had agreed to take on so much manual labor as well, and seemed to have almost infinite patience with Bree. Her quiet contemplations were interrupted by Alice looking up at her and murmuring calmly. "We're going to have visitors in a minute or so."

Isabella's eyebrows raised in surprise, and her expression quickly darkened to wariness, though Alice seemed calm so it eased some of Isabella's early red flags. "Who is it? I didn't think the pack would get here so quickly."

Alice just shook her head as she worked to do her best to affix the somewhat crude hand carved wooden hinges and latches that she and Bella had painstakingly created to the casket base, in an attempt to connect it to the lid.

Isabella was about to repeat her question when it was answered for her. While they were all busy, no one noticed Jasper and Adara slowly approaching the house. Their motions were cautious and they made sure not to make any sudden moves so as not to alarm anyone, especially Isabella, who looked up from where she and Alice had laid the makeshift casket on the front porch.

"Jasper? Adara? What are you doing here?" Emmett asked, he paused digging, and had popped his head up so that it was partially sticking out of the hole in the ground, the echoes in the hole had reverberated just right that he was the first to notice their approach. Everyone stopped what they were doing and quickly gathered to greet them. Jasper scanned them all carefully though his attention was mostly on Isabella, and his entire stance screamed caution and an obvious wariness of saying or doing the wrong thing.

"We're here for a couple of reasons. First we wanted to tell you..." Jasper started, but Isabella shook her head and interrupted with a little sigh.

"The Volturi now know we survived. Edward kindly informed them." Isabella stated flatly. It wasn't the words so much as the tone that surprised everyone. There wasn't even anger behind her words this time, instead a flash of steely scorn crossed her face when she mentioned Edward's name, but otherwise she remained neutral. There was no shock on her features either, about the only emotion that she showed was faint resignation and a little irritation.

Jasper furrowed his brow and regarded her with surprise, "How did you know?" As if to answer his own question, he turned his head to look at Alice with a raised eyebrow, the gesture was a clear indicator of his meaning. She met his gaze and shook her head slightly, making it clear that she hadn't said anything.

"Because he's a worthless prick. It's pretty much what I expected of him. What he wants and cannot have, he tries to destroy. He gave his best shot while we were your guests. I'm sure you saw how well that turned out for him. My question mirrors Emmett's. Why are you here?" Isabella's red eyes were fixed on Jasper who met her gaze unflinchingly. That almost made her smile, he was cautious and walking into an uncertain situation , but he wasn't afraid of her.

"Two reasons, when Adara and I were out hunting we... she came across a strange scent that she was able track for a while until it started to lead us in circles before it disappeared entirely. That worries me. Second after we returned from hunting, Eleazar told us what happened, including Rosalie, Emmett, and Alice leaving. Carlisle was busy talking to Esme who was very… upset." Jasper glanced at Rosalie and Emmett and then finally Alice. Rosalie stiffened slightly at the gaze, but there was no recrimination in his look.

Alice's own anxious eyes locked onto his unflinchingly and she said softly. "Jasper, Edward _knew!_ "

Jasper's face clouded with confusion for a moment and then cleared with a wave of understanding, though somehow he managed to keep his reply calm, "I told you he probably knew about your feelings. There was no way that he didn't read it in your mind at some point, especially given how much you thought about it."

Alice's response was quick, and she was shaking her head almost violently as she lashed out with uncontrolled anger. "No, he knew about the vision in the cafeteria. He saw it the day I had it. All these years and that… that bastard, _fucking knew!_ The entire time, he knew what he was doing, what he was taking from us!" Alice's voice alternated wildly between a half shout and a barely audible hiss, as the true depth of her rage flashed across her face for just a moment before she gained control of it again.

Jasper allowed the shock to show on his face for several moments, as that information sunk in. He wouldn't have believed Edward capable of it before today. Yet even without his own evidence, the combination the hate coming off of Alice, and her plaintive and desperate outrage, and the obvious contempt she conveyed as she spoke of how truly manipulative and sick Edward was to sink to that level, forced him to finally and fully believe in Edward's malignancy. He waited several moments before continuing, he wasn't sure he could get through what he needed to say next, while his anger was so riled up. It was also nice excuse to also give Alice a few seconds to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. What I did know was that he was insulting and rude, and that he attempted to attack you and Isabella. So when I got back I went to have a… conversation with Edward. Carlisle came with me, either to try and defuse the situation, or to attempt to protect Edward. I'm not entirely sure." Jasper spoke slowly and carefully, what he had to say next was even worse. He was so disgusted that he wasn't sure he could get through it.

Rosalie spoke up, her tone curious. "What did you hope to accomplish?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. I guess I was hoping for some answers. I left for a few hours to feed, and I come back to find our family in shambles. Carlisle was in his office drinking from whiskey tumbler full of human blood, and Esme was a total inconsolable wreck. After bringing Carlisle up from his depression, we decided to confront Edward together, except as we were approaching his room we overheard him talking on the phone. It took a moment to focus, and hear the other end of the conversation, but when we did we both stood in shock and horror, since there was no mistaking Aro's voice. Edward related the entire story of your survival, then he started to give him specifics on your plans to remain in the area, Carlisle stopped me from interfering for some reason at that point... and then Edward began to inform on our family members who left to join you. He was telling them…" Jasper broke off and looked away from Isabella with a growl, for the first time his own anger seemed to get the best of him.

Adara reached her arm around her husband's shoulder's as his entire body seemed to shake, whether from the strength and fury of his growl of from the sheer stress of suppressing his rage, or the absolute sorrow of losing a brother she wasn't sure. She spoke up quietly, finishing for him. "Sorry, he's still furious. Edward was requesting for Aro specifically to make sure that Eliza, Rosalie, and Alice were, _punished_… before they were killed." Her tone was filled with disgust and left very little need for any sort of imagination.

Adara squeezed Jasper's shoulder gently as he took several seconds to regain control of himself. When he did finally calm down he looked up and let his eyes travel over the group. "Carlisle stopped me from jumping in and ripping his head off. Carlisle said he was going to confront him, but I couldn't stand to stay another moment. I think Carlisle and Edward were still shouting at each other when I stormed out. I'd had trouble believing it, but he really is a pathetic twisted bastard." Jasper's face was dark and dangerous, he was extremely pissed that Edward had fooled him for so long, and it was clear to everyone present that he was re-evaluating his decision to leave without ripping off Edward's head.

"I should have killed the bastard when I had the chance." Emmett hissed out. Everyone turned to look at him, as he threw his mud and dirt caked arm around Rosalie protectively. She didn't even notice his filthy condition, she was too busy dealing with her own emotions. Emmett's embrace seemed to immediately settle Rosalie and she melted back against him, though her face was still fixed in an expression of combined fear and anger, though the fear was slowly fading as she drew strength from Emmett's embrace. Yet that wasn't nearly as odd as the rage that filled Emmett's normally easygoing face, his clear hatred was shocking to everyone.

Jasper was watching Isabella with a thoughtful expression that slowly turned into a frown. "You knew what he would do when you left, and you did nothing. Why?" Jasper managed to keep his voice calm, and his question impassioned but logical. The curiosity elicited from the rest of those gathered, didn't faze Isabella who was quick to respond.

Isabella glanced around very briefly before speaking though, "We figured out that Edward was the only one who could have called and told the Volturi about Eliza and Leah, because he was the only one who could have known. I'm sure he put it in the worst light possible. Once he admitted to that, of course I knew Edward would call the Volturi; especially when Rosalie humiliated him like she did."

She turned to look at Rosalie. "Which, by the way, was perhaps the single funniest thing I've seen in a century. Not to mention more than a little overdue."

Rosalie grinned slightly, she wasn't sure exactly what was so funny about it. Then she tried to picture it, and she had to admit it was a touch hilarious. She wasn't exactly a big guy like her husband, and Edward looked rather pathetic in that moment. Moreover, she'd been around his antiquated unchanging chauvinistic viewpoints for longer than a century. In that moment she realized how Edward would take being beaten up by a girl; and he wasn't just beaten up, he was utterly humiliated.

The fact was that Isabella had now done it twice, and Rosalie had done it once, in full view of pretty much their entire social circle, made Edward's probable indignant anger all the worse. If the suspicions Jasper had mentioned in passing conversation a few days prior, were right, Eliza had embarrassed him as well, which was probably the reason he disliked her so vehemently after their first meeting; even before he knew of her connection to Isabella. Rosalie's slight grin widened into a full smile realizing just how emasculated that must've made him feel. After considering all of that in an instant, she nodded once in acknowledgement of Isabella's compliment.

Jasper's eyes didn't leave Isabella's face. "I saw the hole you left in the floor at the house. You could have killed Edward. Instead, you let him live. Why would you do that? You knew he would inform the Volturi of your survival, taking away your element of surprise. That would have been a significant advantage, possibly your only one."

Isabella's eyes narrowed. "You have _no _idea how tempting it was to kill him. However, my daughter promised Carlisle that we wouldn't fight, a promise I would have kept, had it not been for his unprovoked assault. The only reason he lived to regret that particular idiocy was again because of Carlisle. I owed him a debt for the hospitality and care he provided my family while I was unable to do so, and the care he showed to me during my convalescence. When we left him humiliated and broken, I was fairly sure that he would inform the Volturi. I just don't care, I want them to come."

"That's suicide." Jasper spit out. Then he regarded Isabella silently as a whirlwind of conflicting emotions raged inside of him. He was angry at how deeply Edward's betrayal stung him, and how totally he had misjudged someone so close to him, it threw all his carefully tended relationships into chaos. But moreover, he was mortified at the complete apathy Isabella was displaying for any sort of tactical advantage, especially against an enemy that was, without debate, the strongest vampire coven in the world.

Jasper was worried about her apparent lack of tactical understanding. He hoped Alice knew what she was doing, he wasn't certain Isabella was showing herself to be all that good of a leader, especially when it came to her total disregard for the safety of those he cherished as family. It was nearly enough to push him over the edge. She was behaving rashly, and her brazen attitude was very likely going to bring a death sentence down upon Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice. The thought of losing them too terrified him to his core, because they were all intrinsically tied to him in every conceivable way.

"I will not run because Aro is a coward. That was proven when chose to use a duplicitous and underhanded method of execution instead of sending agents to capture us physically. I think it's because knows all too well of our capabilities, and I believe he'll hesitate even with the forces he's already sent. Perhaps, I did sacrifice an advantage, but it was a calculated risk. Not to mention the fact that I will not break an alliance. I refuse to turn my back on the Quileute's, they are my allies, and I even consider some family. They have time and again proven their loyalty to me, even before I became a vampire. They've looked past my nature, and chosen to side with me no matter the personal cost. Do I need to add that both of my daughters have Quileute... companions, and I will not betray those connections under any circumstance?" Isabella lifted her chin slightly as a subtle threat to Jasper to contradict her.

Jasper met her gaze for several long seconds before his shoulders slumped. "You're right of course. Let's not fight, it's counter-productive and I don't think now is the right time anyway." Jasper suggested, which seemed to cut into the sudden tension immediately. Rosalie frowned, and then stepped forward, away from her husband's reassuring embrace.

"Where will you go now?" Rosalie asked softly, she didn't want to look like she was guiding them away from the Cullens, but at the same time she made sure her tone hinted that she didn't want them to go far.

"I'm not sure, Adara?" Jasper deferred to his wife, who looked around at the group in front of her with a touch of mixed emotions. She hated the idea of leaving Carlisle and Esme alone, but Edward was clearly like a cancer, who's only interest was his own twisted agenda and self preservation. His transgressions were such that none of them could forget, or even begin to forgive. It was true that she and Jasper hadn't declared they were leaving for good, yet it was clear they couldn't go back right now.

Adara continued to scan the group, her gaze falling in turn on each of the coven members she had known for decades. Emmett's usually smiling face was twisted into a grim almost menacing scowl, his anger directed at a man he couldn't confront. Rosalie's face was clearly also set in anger, but at the same time she seemed more at ease than Adara could ever remember. The biggest change was in Alice though.

Alice was the one that Adara had been the most leery around when she'd first met Jasper, since they had just come out of a very long relationship. She never fully trusted that Alice had just stepped out of his life without any argument or complaint. So she watched her closely for years, expecting jealousy to fester, but it never did. What was worse than the phantom of Jasper and Alice's hundred year relationship, was the act that Alice put on; a show for the rest of the family where she smiled and feigned excitement whenever she thought someone was looking, but when she thought no one was around, she slumped and the life seemed to literally drained out of her. Adara had wondered for years if Alice might have been clinically depressed.

Now, despite her obvious anger at Edward, for the first time that Adara could remember Alice seemed like she was happy, or at least happier than Adara had ever seen her. It was in her posture, and the set of her shoulders. Her shift to happiness reminded Adara of her own melancholy. She had never fit into the Cullen household, not really. She had been the new girl for far too long, and Edward never let her forget it, not that she cared much for him anyway. Still she loved Carlisle and Esme, but they weren't the parental figures for her that they were for the rest of the family.

She looked at Isabella for a long moment, this dark vampire might be crazy... perhaps even dangerous, but she was most definitely powerful. She had a strong Coven, and this was an opportunity to make a fresh start. "Is there an offer to join your Coven on the table?" Adara asked out of the blue.

Jasper's head turned immediately to his wife, giving her a look of total confusion. "Adara? You want to join them?" He had certainly not expected her to say that. When they had originally met and connected, it had taken him more than a year to convince her to join up with Carlisle's coven. She had repeatedly said that she didn't feel it was right to join such an established Coven without getting to know them first. This decision seemed to come out of left-field to him. Then he thought about it for a moment, she did already know half of the members intimately already, that could've been a big factor.

"This is the right place, don't you see. Carlisle and Esme will find their own way, we can't make this choice based solely on their feelings. As much as I love them, they aren't enough of a reason to stay. I need more, I need something new." Adara confessed, it was something that had been weighing on her for a long time. Jasper stared at her for a while.

"I guess that's fine." Isabella shrugged after a few moments hesitation, then Alice nudged her in the ribs slightly with an elbow. "Ah, I... you can join us I guess." Isabella tried to make it sound slightly more enthusiastic.

Alice scrunched up her face at Isabella."You couldn't have made that less diplomatic if you tried." Alice tried to scold Isabella, but her voice was tinged with at least a little amusement.

"Well, she probably_ could_ have. Given her new approach seems to involve a lot of punching and breaking things. That probably would have been slightly less diplomatic." Rosalie teased, feeling for the first time like she was a part of the group.

"Diplomatic or not, that was an offer, and I accept. I won't speak for Jasper though." She turned her eyes towards her husband with a questioning expression. This was probably the first time that one of them had unilaterally made a decision without consulting the other, and she wasn't entirely sure what his response was going to be.

He examined Adara, really looked at her for the first time in ages. She was tall, taller than he usually thought about. Taller than him in fact. She was dark haired, and had expressive eyes. Her face was so beautiful to him, that most of the time he took her beauty for granted. He was lucky to have her, to have found a real mate. He had never really told her that before, being with Alice had never been perfect. That they were partners and lovers, but were never truly a couple. They were both waiting for their real mate to come, passing away the years in mutual comfort. Alice had even said as much the first time they met.

She was sitting at that bar, and their eyes met. It felt like kismet, except for the fact she knew he was coming. Then she explained, that they were going to meet a wonderful family, and they would have many happy years together, until he met his one true love. She had trouble seeing her own fate, although she knew she would met that special someone first. When things turned sideways with Bella... Jasper assumed that Alice had been wrong all those years. The fact that Edward had co-opted her future, had stolen away her love before it could even take place... that was horrible. Edward was horrible. He closed his eyes to suppress his rage, then sighed a little at the pain of it.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll join my wife. If you'll have me." He pulled Adara into a quick embrace, and kissed her like he hadn't in far too long. This felt right somehow, and he was happy to not have to abandon all of his family, especially with a fight with the Volturi looming over them. He would also make sure Carlisle and Esme were taken care of.

"See, _that's_ how you do it." Alice said in a chiding tone towards Isabella.

Isabella just rolled her eyes and muttered something that suspiciously sounded like "punching things is so much easier though."

Then she glanced around and raised an eyebrow at Jasper. "Now that you're here, would you mind lending a hand? You could set up a fire pit over there with seating enough for about two dozen people." Isabella asked motioning toward the opposite side of the house away from the make-shift grave.

Jasper nodded once, although he paused slightly before heading off to start on his task. "Henry?" He asked as he glanced toward the stone.

Isabella frowned and nodded as she motioned towards the hole that Emmet had already half dug up and the grave marker that Rosalie and Bree were still working on. Jasper nodded once, and he clenched his jaw as an expression of sorrow crossed his face. He stared at the place where Henry would be interned for several long seconds before taking a deep breath and setting about working on his assigned project with haste.

After everyone was done with their respective projects, they all helped lower the improvised casket into the ground, but left it open for the funeral. Bree had even found some wildflowers to put on the top of the casket. Isabella was touched they all seemed to care for a stranger, because it was important to her. They helped even though she was sure she could've managed all of it on her own. Yet for some reason they were all actively engaged in the process. Rosalie in particular seemed determined to help for reasons that Isabella couldn't quite understand.

"There's a screwdriver in there, that's good enough to do a crude engraving. What do you want it to say?" Rosalie asked, knowing she probably had the best chance of making it look good since she had a lot of practice working with hard materials.

"I'm honestly not sure. I think Eliza might want some input on that too... let me ask." Isabella pursed her lips a little, dithering over whether she wanted to risk interfering with Eliza's first time. So she opened up the connection a little bit to take a tentative peek, and found that the physical feelings seemed to have come to a relative stop, so they seemed to be done.

_**"So what do you want the tombstone to say?"**_ Isabella's question seemed to come out of nowhere and startled Eliza. A look of embarrassment crossed Eliza's face. She was still in Leah's house and at the moment she was engaged in an active search for her clothes. She had half of an outfit still, although her shirt was a lost cause, and her bra seemed to have entirely disappeared.

_**"Um... hmmmm."**_ Eliza balked, she liked Henry and knew some about him. He had been friendly and they had spent a bit of time together, yet in a very real way he was still mostly a stranger to her. They had known him for only two weeks before he was gone, which was barely enough time to form a deep friendship. "_**I think something like; Henry Jansen, the very best of men. You're spirit will never be forgotten, and you'll be forever missed."**_

_**"Hmmm, that may be too much Rosalie only has a screwdriver to engrave with." **_Isabella countered, feeling that the sentiment was right but the words were wrong. She was very deliberately not commenting on the sense of embarrassment she was feeling from Eliza through their connection.

_**"I could pick up some kind of chisel tool. We're bringing a caravan... the Quileute council and the entire pack are coming."**_ Eliza said in a distracted and offhand manner. After a quiet invitation from Leah she was searching through her closet and dresser drawers for something that would not only fit her, but would look at least a little appropriate for a somber occasion.

_**"No I want it ready before they get here. Also I think we should address the fact that he was a part of a war he had no part in."**_ Isabella looked at Rosalie who was now waiting impatiently for her to finish whatever she was doing. "She's thinking, just hold on a sec." She threw at a clearly surprised Rosalie. Rosalie in a mildly irritated gesture threw her hands up, and crouched back down over the now flat and slightly polished surface of the rock, visually measuring the surface area to account for proper lettering.

_**"Okay, how about; 'Henry Jansen, The Best of Men, Victim of a War He Had No Part In, Never Forgotten, Eternally Missed." **_Eliza frowned, she liked it but something about it felt off to her. Isabella thought it sounded perfect though.

_**"That sounds great. I'll see you soon. Oh and would you please do me a favor and make sure you tell your sister that it's not HER fault that she went through everything she just did." **_Isabella said as she looked over at Bree who was gleefully stacking wood in random piles in Jasper's newly created fire pit. The rest of the group were scattered, sitting on the logs set up around the fire pit as makeshift benches. Jasper and Adara both seemed deep in thought, Emmett was watching Bree and was clearly debating whether he should interfere and help her do it right.

There was a moment's silence and then a feeling of absolute mortification came through the bond. _**"Oh my God. I… I mean… she… you both felt… THAT!?"**_

_**"That would be a giant…. yes." **_Bree's voice came over the bond sounding a little miffed and slightly amused at the whole thing. _**"Maybe Mom does need to have a whole other sort of birds and bees conversation with you." **_Bree stopped in mid step, wondering if she had gone too far with the teasing, and looked at Isabella for reassurance, still holding on to a bunch of little branches. When Isabella actually grinned at her, she couldn't help but smile back as she dropped them on top of the rest of the large stack of branches that looked like it was about to collapse in on itself.

This time it was Isabella's turn to smirk, it wasn't often that she managed to tease Eliza, Bree's comment was pure icing on the cake. _**"Oh yes, obviously the physical part of the bond doesn't work just in battle. Needless to say… we need to teach Bree how to control some of the aspects of our connection. For all our sakes. Because I really don't want to know what both Clearwater's look like naked!"**_

_**"Hey! We haven't even kissed yet!" **_Bree shouted indignantly, a little too loudly through the bond. Eliza was too befuddled to laugh, but Isabella let out an audible guffaw, that drew the entire Coven's attention away from Bree who was turning an interesting shade of pink.

_**"I.. oh…um. Wow. Yeah... sorry Bree. That's totally my fault." **_Eliza was frozen in place at Leah's house, embarrassment covering her features. That was not how she'd intended to announce her relationship with Leah becoming official; and it certainly wasn't how she planned to let her mother of all people know that she was sleeping with someone.

_**"Totes... but that's okay." **_Breesaid back happily. She didn't have any actual problems with sex, even though she'd never done it herself. The fact that she had felt what Eliza was feeling was more of what had caught her off guard. Both Eliza and Isabella caught the mental shrug, and noted that she really wasn't a child, no matter how appealing it was to think of her as their baby. She may have been very naïve at times, and didn't seem to have any sort of understanding on how relationships worked. However, this was a teenager who had run away from home, and had survived the winter month's living on the streets. S he may have come across as young, but she wasn't even close to being a child.

_**"Totes?" **_ Isabella asked Bree curiously.

_**"Totes... totally... it's a thing Mom. See you guys in a bit." **_Eliza said, cutting off the connection as Leah pulled on her pants. She was half tempted to make everyone wait, but Isabella's questioning had given her a mental kick to the butt to get her moving. Eliza grumbled slightly as she got moving, obediently if reluctantly.

"Rosalie engrave this; Henry Jansen, The Best of Men, Victim of a War He Had No Part In, Never Forgotten, Eternally Missed._"_ Isabella said with a bit more emotion than she intended. Rosalie cocked her head curiously. It was clear to her that this man meant something to her, which meant he was important. That meant he deserved to be given a proper grave marker, and Isabella's suggestion didn't sit right with her.

"That seems, off. Who exactly are we burying?" Rosalie asked in a tender voice.

"He's the first casualty of the war the Volturi brought upon themselves when they tried to kill my family." Isabella was marginally shocked that Rosalie cared enough to ask for details, but it wasn't the first time she'd shown unexpected compassion today.

"Oh of course. You mentioned him before. What was he like?" She asked seriously.

"We don't have time to get into that now. The Quileute's will be arriving soon." Isabella dismissed her question with a wave of her hand, she didn't want to think about him.

"How soon?" Rosalie countered Isabella's dismissal easily.

"Twenty minutes." Isabella grunted out, her irritation with the pseudo-interrogation starting to show.

Rosalie ignored Isabella's mood, and pressed on. "That's enough time. Tell me about him."

Isabella frowned, then took a deep sigh. "Why? You didn't know him." Jasper had been watching and listening to the entire exchange, stood and moved over to them silently, but didn't say anything.

"No I didn't. Yet you obviously cared about him, or you wouldn't have gone to this amount of trouble." Rosalie motioned towards the grave, it had been quite a bit of work. If they had been human it would've been hours and hours of hard labor, as is, it took almost two hours to get everything set up just right. "I just want his permanent marker to reflect the man he was." Rosalie added with as much empathy as she could summon.

"I... thank you. I don't know. He, he was smart and knowledgeable. He had convinced Aro to keep him alive even though he knew about us. I knew he didn't want immortality, he had no interest in being like us. He was particular about things. I liked him." Isabella felt unequal to the task of describing the man she hardly knew. She even felt a little guilt that she hadn't bothered getting to know him better. At the same time, Rosalie actually caring this much was a new experience, and from her demeanor she seemed genuine. Isabella liked this side of her, and wondered why she had never seen it before.

"He was smart, he liked history and had a thousand stories. He kind of reminded me of a doting and friendly uncle type, but a sardonic one. Someone world weary, and well traveled. I have no doubt in my mind he served in some form of military at some point in his life. And I know he studied the human condition, and read extensively." Jasper filled in the gaps from Isabella's attempt, giving her a warm smile that showed he didn't hold her lack of information against her. She managed a small smile back.

"Let me think, I'll have something in a minute or two." Rosalie thought about how to phrase the memorial, as Jasper and Isabella watched her curiously. She felt a bit of pressure as they stared at her, but didn't let it get to her. "Alright I think I have it. How about; Henry Jansen. Storyteller, Scholar and Survivor. Friend and Compatriot. Fallen Before his Time. A Casualty in Someone Else's War. Always Remembered and Eternally Missed."

"That's... perfect. Rosalie... would you please use that." Isabella stared at Rosalie, as she started to change her opinion of other woman because of her continued displayed compassion. The thought wormed it's way into Isabella's head, maybe she had been wrong about her being an uncaring bitch all these years. The whole interaction gave her a lot to think about, as she turned towards the rest of the group to join Alice and wait for the council and pack to arrive. Except as she began to walk towards Alice, Alice gasped and then looked around at the group with a sudden deep frown.

"Oh shit, that'll never do." She scrunched her nose up making an icky face, and stood quickly. "I'm gonna get some clothes, we look awful." Isabella was about to protest, but shrugged as she looked around. They were all pretty filthy from the various tasks they had been performing.

"Getting to the mall and back before the Quileute's arrive isn't possible, and having them wait while someone shops for clothes is out of the question, what do you suggest?" Isabella frowned trying to figure out a solution. She didn't care so much about the dirty state of her clothes, but even she had to admit that attending a funeral looking like they did was disrespectful, and she very much wanted to send him off with the dignity and respect he deserved.

"Well, clearly we have to go back to the house. As a symbol, walking out was the right thing, it was hardly practical though." Alice suggested with a slight wince. She didn't love the prospect of facing Carlisle and Esme, or Edward.

"I don't have a problem with anyone getting things they need. I just don't think any of us should spend any more time in that house. Carlisle would be gracious, but I don't think we should make it seem like we're rubbing salt in the wounds. Especially with Edward around it would be dangerous for them." That hung in the air for a moment as everyone thought about their choices.

"I don't think Edward will be there, that fight didn't look like it was going to end well." Adara added, trying to offer something positive but regretted her choice of words immediately. Conjuring up Edward created an even longer silence, no one wanted to think about his numerous betrayals.

"I… don't have any other clothes." Bree spoke up after a second of silence. Alice smiled and moved over to Bree, making sure that physical contact was alright before pulling her into a friendly hug.

"Sometime this week I'll get you a whole big wardrobe." Alice said consolingly.

"Alice I assume you know everyone's sizes?" Isabella asked, somewhat rhetorically.

"Surely you don't doubt my skills?!" Alice's expression was one of mock horror before she grinned impishly at Isabella.

"Good, Rosalie would you mind going with her, just in case asshat decides to be a nuisance. If he tries… anything… feel free to indulge in an encore performance." Isabella grinned at the blonde with the friendliest tone of voice she had given her since returning to Forks.

"Trust me, that would be my pleasure." Rose actually managed a smile, then started off towards the Cullen house without another word. Alice gave Bree another squeeze and then pushed her back towards the logs and sticks she had been piling up for a bonfire.

Bree, couldn't stop the smile that pulled up her cheeks. She really felt loved and included as a part of something. It made her more happy than she ever remembered being, even before her mother disappeared. Nothing could've prepared her for being a part of a family like this, and she was living constantly in a state of blissful bewilderment, pleasant confusion, and a desperate hope that it was all real and she wouldn't wake up the next day in her father's home with a fresh set of bruises.

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Twilight descended on the scene, and a cool evening breeze blew through the clearing, with no hint of rain. Yet the wind was sweet, like the honeysuckles and seashore lupine, that smelled like grapes, had bloomed just for this moment... in a gesture to the memory of their fallen friend.

"They're coming." Bree announced proudly, practically chirping. She had been trying to better learn to use her senses, as Rosalie had been teaching her the finer points of focus over the previous week. She could hear the faint sound of tires on gravel as a look of puzzlement crossed her face. "But they're driving?" The last part of her announcement was more statement than it was question. She looked up from the fire she was carefully coaxing into life. She had discovered that even though she had plenty of wood, getting it started presented a bit of a problem. Emmett eventually gave up the idea of letting her figure it out on her own, and had stepped up and shown her how.

"Most of the Quileute Council are human, thus cars. I bet Eliza decided to ride with them rather than run back here." Isabella was sitting next to Rosalie and Alice who had returned with four suitcases full of clothes after only fifteen minutes, leaving a few minutes for everyone to get ready. When they arrived back, Alice looked a little disappointed, probably because she couldn't take her whole closet. Thankfully their acquisitions, liberated from the Cullen's house were all "barely acceptable", in Alice's opinion, for the event. Alice did manage to find a nice dress for Bree, mostly because they were similar in size and shape.

Alice had found a black dress she thought that Isabella would look good in, even as something worn to a funeral. However Isabella had adamantly refused to wear it. She stated very clearly that, "She did not wear dresses. Ever." Instead she picked out an all black ensemble of slacks, and a simple black v-neck long sleeve shirt that was too large in the bust for her, because it originally belonged to Rosalie. Alice was going to argue the point further, but she knew it was pointless.

The following few minutes were quiet as Bree's attempts to build the fire provided a bit of a distraction for everyone. Then the first car in a parade of trucks and cars pulled down the gravel drive to the house.

It took several minutes for them all to filter in towards the fire that Bree had begun. Eliza was the first out, along with Seth and Leah. The trio made their way over without waiting for the rest of the party. Without prodding Seth eagerly stepped up to help Bree with the fire, taking over for Emmett who then moved over to sit with Rosalie. He started by showing her how to make it a large bonfire by organizing the wood strategically instead of just stacking it haphazardly. However there wasn't any other conversation.

As the group settled, some of the Quileute's glared at Jasper, Adara, Rosalie, and Emmett, and some even tossed an occasional glare at Alice. The silence stretched as some of the Quileute's set up chairs instead of opting to sit on one of the logs near the fire. Most of the Quileute's liked Henry from their interactions with him over the past week, and as they all filed in, they waited solemnly in respect for the funeral to begin.

When the last Quileute made their way over to the fire, Isabella stood and moved towards the grave site ten meters away. The descending twilight and the now growing fire created a strange glow over the scene. No one spoke as they moved from the fire to gather around the hole, waiting for her to start. Jacob noticed the engraving and allowed a soft smile, he hadn't expected the leeches to get something like that right.

Then Isabella started speaking solemnly. "I'm not a word smith, so I'll keep this short. I first want to thank all of you for coming. I'm sure Henry would've been touched at the show of friendship and respect. Henry, I'd like to think that those here that knew you contributed a lot to the life we were starting to build here, and in the short time we knew you Henry, you brought us many unexpected things. It's hard to express how I personally feel, I didn't know you as well as I would've liked to. I know that this conflict, wasn't your fight. You were caught in fires stoked by cowards, who couldn't fight us directly. For that I'm truly sorry, if we had known how easily... no that isn't how you should be remembered."

She trailed off for a few seconds, looking awkwardly around before continuing, unexpected grief choking her up momentarily. "You were a good man, you made humans real to me again, I know that sounds strange, but I haven't interacted with any since I was human. I know you weren't afraid of death, and that immortality wasn't something that interested you. So I hope you've found out what lies on the other side of the curtain. I hope you find the answers you seek, even though I wish you hadn't started that quest to find them quite so soon." Her voice drifted off and silence descended once more.

Eliza's voice spoke up quietly after a few long moments of respectful silence, her voice was full of emotion, and if she hadn't let it out earlier she knew she'd be sobbing incoherently. "You were my first human friend. It was a pleasure to know you. I'm sorry we brought this on you." Eliza seemed to be at a loss for words for a few moments before she murmured. "We had a Batcave and you were our Alfred. I hope you know what you meant to us. We'll miss you." Eliza looked down in embarrassment as several confused expressions were directed her way. A few others seemed to understand the comment.

It was Quil's voice that rose solemnly, bringing the gravity of age with it. "You helped care for members of our pack when they were injured. You gave freely of yourself and yours to help us. May your spirit travel the winds freely. And may any spirits you encounter, know that you were named a friend of the Quileute's."

Silence descended once more.

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**Author's note: Wooohoo! Chapter! **

**1) Once again, this chapter started VERY small and grew into alot more. But I'm happy about it. I don't think we're adding size or details just for kicks. I think they add to the story. Once again, i wrote something small and said "I hate this" and Samantha wrote a FABULOUS chapter. So once more thanks go to her for her AMAZING work. **

**On that note, thank you to those of you who took a chance to read our other collaboration and left reviews. As I said in the last chapter the other story is VERY AU and totes non-canon. But I hope you'll give it a chance. The second chapter has gone up!**

**title: Secrets and Covenants**

**www dot fanfiction dot net /s/9082301/1/Secrets-and-Covenants**

**2) I don't often do this but there was a guest review put up last chapter. It was very offensive and I deleted it. If you want to be a jerk about the writing that's fine, I *LOVE* constructive criticism. But I won't accept insults. When you're just trying to offend because the story doesn't go the way you wanted and you do it anonymously, I would appreciate you just moving on. **

**One thing I would like to respond to that reviewer however. I said that this story is a Bellice. That much is true. However, I have stated several times it's a STORY with lots of plot, that INCLUDES a Isabella and Alice romance. That is NOT the only point of this story. This also includes a Leah/Eliza romance and THAT is also not the only point of the story. It will include other relationships both romantic and platonic that may or may not get much scene time. I'm sorry if you read this and the only thing you're looking for is a Bella/Alice romance and Bella/Alice smut. There is NOTHING wrong with that, I enjoy reading that stuff if the mood strikes me. However that's not what this story is. We're taking the world in a whole bunch of fun directions with lots of exploring to do. **

**3) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: This started as such a short scene, but we felt that it needed to be an ending scene instead of a starting one. So what started as 1500 words grew into what it is now. It was another one of my projects again, as Kathryn worked on the next two (including something between a certain couple you all have been waiting for). I hope you all like it. Adara finally got some screen time, and I apologize if she isn't exactly like we've portrayed her before. To be honest she wasn't fully fleshed out until now, so expect her to have a bit more of a voice moving forwards. Until next time! **

**4) She's right, we fleshed out Adara much more in this chapter I've neglected her. If anyone is curious what the visual reference is for her We're happy to share! I also made a few minor adjustments to the last chapter. Thank you to those who pointed things out to me!**

**5) I hope you're enjoying the ride. More twists and turns and fun to come! *maniacal laughter* **

**6) Please read and review! Our stated and unabashed goal is 5k reviews. Even short ones help, but we LOVE long ones and they get you shout outs here!**

**Next Chapter- A new arrival!**


	39. The Drums of War

_**~ Chapter 39 ~**_

_**I don't want to be hostile.  
I don't want to be dismal.  
But I don't want to rot in an apathetic existence either.  
See I want to believe you,  
and I want to trust  
and I want to have faith to put away the dagger.  
But you lie, cheat, and steal.  
And yet I tolerate you.  
Veil of virtue hung to hide your method  
while I smile and laugh and dance  
and sing your praise and glory.  
Shroud of virtue hung to mask your stigma  
as I smile and laugh and dance  
and sing your glory while you  
lie, cheat, and steal.  
How can I tolerate you?  
Our guilt, our blame,  
I've been far too sympathetic.  
Our blood, our fault.  
I've been far too sympathetic.  
I am not innocent.  
You are not innocent.  
No one is innocent.  
I will no longer tolerate you  
Even if I must go down beside you.  
Because, no one is innocent.**_

The vampire stood stock still as he peered out of the fifth story window of his spacious apartment. He was daydreaming again, of a puzzle that seemed as distant and hard to define to him as the faint hints of trees edging the horizon of the cityscape. This was his city, or at least he was the guardian of it. The Caravelli family might have ruled the underworld in this city, but it was his duty to protect the humans. It fell to him to catch one of his kind that was making waves that he couldn't let continue no matter the cost.

A quiet feminine voice drifted up from behind him, "Thinking about the Morgan case again?"

"Am I that transparent?" The brooding vampire responded after a moment, turning away from the window to look at his oldest and dearest friend, though given the very limited nature of their social circles it wasn't exactly something to brag about. He could count his friends on one hand, and still have enough fingers to grip and fire the gun he carried; though the gun was mostly for show. It helped in dealing with the human criminals if they saw he was armed.

"No, I just know you." The dark haired woman said with a sly smile, then looked down with a bit of sadness. "We'll catch him, we always do." She said finally after staring at her feet for a moment. He looked back at the window with a deep sigh.

"If we don't, the damn Volturi won't wait very much longer to step in and we'll be lucky if they only kill half the vampires in town." He lowered his head in thought. The last thing they needed was Volturi dogs snapping at their heels. Chicago had enough problems without them decimating the population in their normal dropping a nuke into a hole to take out a gopher approach..

"You know that's hyperbole, Oliver. The Caravelli's are getting too powerful for them to just show up. The Volturi will just find our little monster and be done with him." Emma tried to placate his fears, but she knew better. The Volturi wouldn't hesitate to crush the Caravelli family, if they found it convenient. Not to mention the handful of individuals and smaller covens would all be suspect and likely executed. If Volturi descended on the city, and worst came to worst, they might have to run. At least they had a lot of capital stowed away for just such an event. She didn't like the idea of leaving their friends behind, but how much could they really do against the Volturi. At least no one knew of their gifts, she had heard enough stories about the Volturi's interests in special talents to be wary who they told about them.

"Perhaps one can hope, but Emma, you know the Caravelli's don't protect the rest of us independents. Even if we do odd jobs for them on occasion." He hated associating with the family. The ruthless way they conducted their business was unpalatable to him, so she had to handle most of their interactions with what was basically the vampire mafia, the thought of it still made him smile. As a human he would've found the notion hilarious, the reality of it though, was terrifying. He frowned and his eyes flicked over her expression. "What is it?"

"Zoey called. There was another attack." Emma admitted reluctantly. Zoey had phoned a couple of minutes earlier with the news. She was out shopping and must have had the police scanner on in the car.

"I wish she wasn't so involved, she's too close to our world." Oliver said in displaced frustration. He was irritated with the case, not with Emma's timing or the fact that Zoey was involved in their business, even though it exposed her to vampires more than he liked. Zoey was ten years old when they found her hiding behind a couch after a particularly horrible vampire attack. Ever since the Caravelli bosses laid down the strict restrictions on human feeding, Oliver and Emma had been given a lot of work. They were the go to investigators for any mysterious or suspicious killings the family or human authorities couldn't figure out or didn't have the time to handle themselves.

Zoey was a liability for them though, so they took her in. They both were wary of having a human around, but they refused to condemn her to death, since she was far too young to turn, but old enough to know that what she was dealing with wasn't human. There really wasn't any other option. No one challenged the vampire's "kill or convert" law. Fortunately, after a couple of months the two of them had both fallen in love with the girl, and they became a strange soft of family, since Emma and Oliver were just very close platonic friends. After a lot of back and forth, they promised Zoey that when she was eighteen, they would give her a choice. Her birthday was in three days. Strangely, while Zoey seemed relaxed and confident about her eighteenth birthday approaching, Emma had been fretting about it for a month.

"Where's the body?" Oliver held back the irritation from his voice. She should've started with that.

"Zoey just texted you with the address." She said just after his phone started to vibrate.

"You coming?" He asked as he pulled the phone from his pocket. He assumed she'd want to go, but he knew better than to proceed from that assumption, since he never knew what kind of mood she was in.

Emma nodded once, she needed some violence. That created a twinge of pain inside, drudging up the long past. Emma and Oliver were just the latest in a series of names they had used in their long travels. They had lost their human names long ago, when almost by mutual consent they had agreed that there were too many bad memories associated with those pasts. Those fuzzy memories filled her with a dark anger, which she often funneled that into a narrow focus, none of which would've been possible without Oliver, he had helped her work though her issues... mostly, and by doing so facilitated the shape of her current personality.

They crossed the city in mere minutes, the twilight masking their movements over rooftops and along streets that were emptying out just before the evening rush. They paid the usual bribe to one of their friends on the human police force to get close, thankfully because of the backlog of cases, homicide detectives were slow to arrive. Emma spread out her mind, as Oliver touched the still warm body of the college boy whose neck had been ripped apart.

Emma searched out within her gift to scan the surface thoughts of everyone around her in search of their prey. From her decades of practice she could easily determine that most of the minds in her hundred yard range were human, but one stood out. She zeroed in on it, and smiled as she felt the semi-familiar tenor of the monster's mind. She had run into him once before, but they had never been this close. Her only thought was that he was baiting them for some reason.

Oliver pressed his hand against the wound slightly, not hard enough to disturb the scene, but definitely close enough to establish physical contact. Oliver closed his eyes tightly, and started to search. The images started to flow almost immediately, as was the case of all of the recently dead. Inanimate objects were easier, different, more ordered. Oliver suspected that his gift touched on the residual memories of a formally living creature, which were often random and unhelpful. Of course his gift didn't work on the living. That's was Emma's department.

"Got him." Emma whispered.

Oliver didn't notice, he was swimming through the flood of things this boy had held onto in his final moments. His last girlfriend's face and breasts, his father's proud smile after he had been accepted into the University of Illinois, his mother's tears when he said goodbye before he left for Chicago, the voice of the friend who had invited him to a house warming party on this side of town, the presence of the man who had come up from behind and torn... the images stopped short. Oliver frowned, he was too late. There wasn't enough there.

He stood and looked around, Emma was gone.

"Shit. I hate it when she does this." He picked up her scent trail, and followed without even a wave to his cop friend.

The trail ended at a towering wall, and he glanced around him quickly before scaling it. On the roof he found her stone still, locked into a mental tether with a vampire on the other side of the roof. The vampire also looked like he was frozen mid-stride, unable to move a muscle.

Emma didn't like this one's thoughts, they felt dirty and vile to her. Yet she wrapped her mental arms around his mind, and stopped him in place more effective than any chain. She then started to root through his memories, searching for the connection to the Morgan case. It wasn't a pleasant experience for her captive, nor did she make any attempt to make it so.

This wasn't a passive scanning of thoughts, or even a cursory reading of what was on the vampire's mind. No, this was a violation of the worst and deepest sort. She plunged viciously into his mind with no regard for privacy or decency. Normally it would pain her to be so intrusive, but in this situation she reveled in agony it caused She could vaguely feel Oliver by her side when she finally found that poor girl's face in his memories.

"You deserve pain." She said into his mind, and began to twist it. His body clenched in an involuntary spasm, contorting from the mental illusion she implanted. But something was wrong, even under the pain she was inflicting, she felt a surge of pleasure, and the sense of success. He was too confident. It was a trap! Oliver's hand landed on her shoulder at the same time she jerked her mind from the vampire's. "We have company." She spat out as she expanded her ability outward, pushing it as far as it would go. There she felt the minds of nearly a dozen vampires and at least eight other dog… _creatures of some kind _ some kind, except the lightest skimming of their surface thoughts gave her a sense of being fractured and twisted.

"Go, I can keep them still long enough to get away." She said as she tried to reach into all their minds at once. It would keep her totally immobile, exerting that kind of control required absolute concentration. She didn't wait for his response, as she expanded her mind outward. Her touch was ruthless as she did her best to lock every one of the creatures immobile. While she had done it to the vampire they had been chasing, he was just one being, She had never tried to effect so many physically before, and she met with different levels of success. But she managed to either completely immobilize some while partially paralyzing others enough that they couldn't move well,

"Not a chance." Oliver said in refusal, even though he was relatively certain she couldn't hear him. The thought of leaving her behind was reprehensible to him. Without waiting, he gathered her up in his arms and started to run. She kept a hold of the minds for as long as she could, but far too soon they were outside of the range of her abilities. It had taken him only moments to exceed that range, they were barely one hundred yards away from the building when she couldn't reach them any further.

They both heard the screams and howls that came the instant the group of monsters was released from her control. She didn't bother pushing out of Oliver's grasp as he ran, her weight wasn't slowing him and she was far too drained at the moment to easily keep up his pace. She knew where he was headed, their only escape at this point was to make it to the water, only she had no idea where they would go from there.

She didn't need to delve into his head to know the same question was on both of their minds.

What the hell just happened?

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The funeral split up as Isabella and Eliza pushed the pile of dirt Emmett had created from digging the hole back in. Then they tamped it down, smoothed it out, and gently placed the grass Emmett had pulled up carefully back on top. Once they had filled in the hole, they paid another minute of respect to Henry's memory, before turning and heading toward the camp fire where everyone else had gathered.

Eliza sat down next to Leah as they approached the fire. Bree sat herself down on the other side of Eliza, and then smiled when Rosalie almost immediately sat down on the other side of her, Emmett immediately followed suit taking his place next to his wife. Seth looked slightly put off at the seating arrangements, and contented himself standing behind the group. He didn't look too out of place as some other members of the pack remained standing slightly outside the circle of the fire too.

Isabella found a place next to Alice, who immediately slid her hand into Isabella's. Eliza noticed that once again, Alice had an instantaneous effect on her mother's emotions. It wasn't like Isabella's anger was gone, rather it much less dominant, suppressed by other more pleasant emotions. Eliza wisely chose not to make any comment on it.

As they settled in, Jacob looked up with a wry smile on his face. "You're back less than two weeks and we've already had two emergency council meetings. Which is more than in the past ten years. Totally a coincidence, I'm sure." The teasing tone in his voice kept it from being insulting.

Isabella's lips quirked up in a small smile for a brief moment. She looked around at the faces of everyone present and realized that they were all staring and waiting for her to speak. "Eliza has filled you all in on what's going on?"

Jacob made a 'sorta' motion with his hand, glanced around at his pack and the council before returning his eyes to Isabella. "She told Leah the very basics after she woke up. The Volturi has cancelled the alliance with us, and have or will send a group of vampires to attack us. Enough to warn us to prepare while you were unconscious. Honestly I'm surprised we got that much, I don't think a locomotive could have dragged her from your side."

Isabella had a curious expression on her face when she glanced at Eliza who shrugged slightly. _**"I didn't want to blurt out everything in the Cullen's house. I didn't know who might over hear. I wanted a chance to talk to you first." **_Isabella's brief distraction didn't go un-noticed.

_**"You kinda told me to shut up too."**_ Bree interjected a little timidly.

_**"I did? I so don't remember that."**_ Eliza sent with a slight cringe. She felt horrible at the idea of talking down to Bree.

_**"It's okay, I wouldn't have said anything anyway."**_ Bree offered happily, needing them to know she was trustworthy.

_**"No, I'm sorry. I was probably half out of my mind at the time. I probably said it because I knew you weren't aware of all of the politics and ramifications of the Volturi."**_ Eliza was visibly wincing at this point. If she had told Bree to shut up, she probably hadn't done it nicely, and Bree was being too cool about it.

_**"I know, I really am okay with it. You were gasping for breath before falling unconscious again. I honestly don't hold it against you."**_ Bree pressed up against Eliza for a few seconds, which was a welcome reminder that she was growing more and more comfortable with her as a sister.

_**"Eliza, Bree I'm really happy that you're bonding, and I'm sure we're all shocked that Eliza has a habit of putting her foot in her mouth from time to time, but could we talk about this later?"**_ Isabella interjected as gently as she could. She didn't want to break up the bonding moment, but this was a meeting she called and her attention had to be focused on it.

_**"Um, yeah sorry."**_ Eliza said still feeling a little upset that she snapped at Bree.

_**"You didn't yell at me or anything, just kind of told me to keep my mouth shut about the Volturi. Anyway, It's not like we're interrupting the conversation."**_ Bree said with a bit of cynical confidence. It made both Isabella and Eliza smile inwardly at her. She was starting to come out of her shell already, and it made them both very proud to be a part of her life. _**"But this is important to you Mom, so I'll shut up, for now."**_

"I take it that there's more to the story?" Quil asked quietly, looking up at Isabella who turned away from Bree with a bemused expression on her face. Then he motioned with a meaningful glance at the remains of the house. He had refrained from inquiring more deeply the instant they arrived because of the solemn nature of the funeral, but he wasn't going to keep his mouth shut any longer.

"A little bit." Isabella admitted, she seemed to hesitate; struggling with how to put her thoughts into words as a surge of conflicting emotions rose up inside her. She was a little bit surprised by her own reactions, since she hadn't really had a problem controlling herself all day. She looked towards Eliza and Bree who were both staring at the structure clearly lost in the painful memories it conjured. No wonder her emotions were suddenly so hard to handle, she narrowed her connection to her daughters slightly, which gave her a bit of peace, and then she gave Alice's hand a gentle squeeze, which calmed her even more.

"I think we deserve to hear the entire story." Quil almost demanded in a firm tone of voice, Isabella met his glare and noted the hardening of his expression.

Out of the corner of her eye, Isabella noticed Rosalie stiffen and begin to bristle as she drew away from Emmett. Discomfort and a touch of hostility crept into her eyes as she stared at Quil. Isabella shifted to intercept the blonde from getting in his face, but found herself yet again surprised when Rosalie took a deep breath and settled back into her husband. Little by little Isabella was growing fond of her new coven mate, who was clearly trying to work against her normal impulses and make her current situation work.

Isabella turned back towards Quil, and then surveyed the faces of the rest of the gathered pack and council members. Colin seemed to be the only one glaring at her with open hostility. "What Eliza told you was true. The Volturi Council dissolved the alliance with your pack for less than honorable reasons."

Colin's stood and raised a hand in protest before Isabella could continue. "I told you! We ally with vampires, and the first thing they do is turn around and admit to breaking that alliance before the ink is even dry. Now they are actively trying to kill us, and we sit here and talk with them? This is nonsense! Why are we even here? And why are members of the _Cullens _here?! We have no alliance with them."

"God, you really love to wave your douchebag flag around whenever you get a chance don't you?" Eliza sneered, she wasn't about to let him forget his actions from the last council meeting.

Isabella's voice cracked like a whip, cutting off any further comment from Eliza who had opened her mouth to continue, and Colin who looked like he was preparing to get right up into Eliza's face and challenge her. "If you would let me _explain_, you would have all of those answers and more. Or would you like to flap your mouth some more and make assumptions that will only make an ass out of you."

She paused to look around at everyone pointedly, in a visible challenge to anyone to make another interruption before she finished. Colin took one look at her dangerous expression and sat back down looking a little defeated. Quil stifled a smirk, and Eliza bit her lip to keep from smiling widely.

"The Volturi Council decided in their own circuitous way to terminate the alliance and attack you. Then they ordered _us_ to attack you. We refused. Aro and Cauis didn't take our refusal philosophically, they reacted as they always do when someone disagrees with them... With violence. Except this time they decided to pass their judgment on us from a far, setting off explosives built into the very foundation of our house." Isabella motioned her head towards the house as evidence.

"Talk about shoddy construction." Eliza added with a smirk. This elicited several groans, but Isabella actually smiled at Eliza's slightly inappropriate humor.

"That's seems insane... they blew up your house over a philosophical disagreement or because you disagreed with their orders? Do they treat all their coven members with such flippant loyalty and obvious disdain?" Quil said incredulously.

"Both actually. I knew how they would react, their track record for people refusing orders of any kind is very consistent. So it was something I was prepared for... well not the explosion. That admittedly was unexpected. The Volturi are all about the ends justifying the means, if a member of the Coven is causing problems they generally have one solution, execution." Isabella said rather ruefully. She had always thought of them as that ruthless, but she didn't quite grasp how much they feared her and Eliza until they stooped to such duplicitous methods.

"That's... I guess there's no way I could understand something like that. No offense, but I don't know how a vampire mind works." Quil seemed to be pondering the idea, but the slight scowl of frustration on his face spoke to his inability to grasp the concept.

"None taken." Isabella shrugged, he was right there was no way he could understand how a vampire's mind worked. The Quileutes spent a vast majority of their history avoiding their blood enemies, and the idea of coexisting peacefully never occurred to them until the Cullens. Why would any of them have spent the effort to understand their enemy, besides figuring out new ways to defeat them.

"I still can't believe they blew up your house." Quil repeated staring at the mostly blackened rubble that looked like a crushed insect in the limited light of the twilight sky and the chaotic dancing lights cast from the bonfire.

"Well, it was either that or someone let Jacob cook." Tekali quipped with a wry smile.

"Hey, I'm not that bad." Jacob managed an offended face for all of three seconds before he grinned sheepishly.

"Honey, I love you, but you can burn instant jell-o. He can't even make toast without setting off the fire alarm." Tekali said in jest, although it wasn't entirely untrue. Jacob's face grew a little red from embarrassment, but he couldn't help but chuckle.

Quil held up a hand to redirect the conversation back to the issue at hand. Jacob quickly stopped and dropped his smile, and Tekali nodded once in respect towards Quil. "There's one thing I don't understand. Why the sudden change, and why did they insist on having you two begin the assault on us? That seems like a major and rather sudden reversal." Quil asked, his voice remaining serious.

Isabella's eyes narrowed, "A couple of reasons. First is that they were informed about the relationship between Eliza and Leah. They definitely did not approve of that."

"Who, I mean I certainly didn't tell anyone?" Leah spoke up, glancing at Eliza and an obvious thought occurred to her and her eyes flicked involuntarily toward the boulder marking the grave where they'd just buried Henry.

"No, he wasn't to blame. No the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of our shit stain of a brother." Rosalie sighed and growled at the same time, then hung her head in a bit of shame. She had bought his lies for nearly two centuries and it made her furious just thinking about it. Bree couldn't stand to see her in such pain so she wrapped an arm around her waist and wormed her head under Rosalie's arm so she could rest it against her chest. A small smile flicked across Rosalie's face as she squeezed Bree's shoulder gently.

"Former brother." Emmett added spitting on the ground in disgust. The hatred behind his eyes really didn't suit him, and Isabella made a mental note of dealing his rage sometime very soon. She was well aware of the effects such anger could have, and didn't want him to dwell on it.

The Quileute's all had a similar reaction; shock and anger. Most amounted to not much more than glares and raised eyebrows, but a few looked downright hostile. The focus of course was all centered on Rosalie, who was too lost in her own personal demons to notice.

Jacob turned and stared at Isabella, silently demanding she meet his eyes. Isabella shook her head slightly, avoiding Jacob for several long seconds before finally meeting his unspoken question. She wasn't sure how strongly he would react to the answer, especially since it validated everything he had said all those years ago. "Yeah, it was Edward."

Jacob stood up and let out a growl of frustration and vindication, and then he tensed up so tightly that he was visibly shaking for a moment before he got himself under control. "I knew I should have hunted that fucking leech down and ripped his head off when this all started!"

He closed his eyes and turned his face towards the rising moon, and there he stood stone still and silent for several moments as the rest of those gathered reconciled their own feelings. Eventually he calmed down and took several deep calming breaths before he looked down at Isabella and started much more quietly. "Tell me you ground him into dust today.?"

This time genuine guilt flicked across Isabella's face. "I wish I had, but no, I owed Carlisle for taking care of us after the explosion. Rosalie did slap the shit out of him, and then gave him reason to sing soprano before kicking him several times in the gut." Most of the wolves gave the blonde a pleased and slightly jealous smile, and Isabella flashed Isabella one as well.

Rosalie grinned at the respect she'd just received from Isabella, and feeling the need to reciprocate, interjected. "Then you pitched him through a window and then cratered him into the ground like some anime goddess, can't forget that!"

The humor seemed to fly past Jacob, "I told you all those years ago that he was a total fucking waste! I should go take care of him right fucking now! It's about a hundred years overdue!" Jacob was so worked up that he was literally spitting with each word. His rapid pacing around one side of the fire signaled how close he was to flying off the handle.

"I'll come with you. I'd be happy for that bastard to suffer a bit before he dies." Emmett said, stepping forward slightly, a grim expression on his face.

Jacob turned towards him and nodded once at the unexpected camaraderie. That was the second time he felt kinship with the towering vampire. It made him wonder how far he had misjudged the Cullens for all those years. The thought made him pause in mid-step, as he looked at all of them assembled. Had they really changed? He regarded Emmett carefully, and decided that he would be happy to call him an ally if things went in that direction.

Emmett's call to hunt seemed to catch most of the Quileutes by surprise, but before any of them could respond verbally, and form what might be the most unique and diverse lynch mob in history, Isabella spoke up, her voice once again sharp and commanding enough to draw everyone's attention. "No! Absolutely not! " Her loud interjection was accompanied by a glare that sent shivers down every spine.

Once again she paused to look around the circle until she was sure she had everyone's attention. "I let him live because we owed Carlisle. I made it very clear I wouldn't touch him if he stays away and no longer interferes. However he knows if I, or any of us see him again, his life is forfeit. So we will _not_ hunt him down no matter how much he deserves it. We have to deal with much bigger problems than a spoiled brat. As such, anyone who wanders off to try will have to deal with me!" Once more her gaze moved over the group, daring anyone to challenge her.

An absolute silence fell over the group, leaving on the crickets and the crackling of the fire to keep everyone's thoughts company. "How does she do that stare thing? Is that a power?" Asked a slightly awed voice that was magnified in the sudden silence of the night..

Everyone's head whipped around to look at Bree who looked confused for a moment, and then blinked in surprise and brought her hands flew to her mouth with a gasp. "Oh my god! Was that out loud?"

Even Eliza was staring at her in open mouthed surprise, before she burst out laughing. It seem to break the dam of tension throughout the group because everyone started laughing a moment later.

Isabella's ran a hand over her face with a sigh, "Two of them. I have two of them."

Once the laughter died down, Isabella continued. "Anyway, the basic conflict is pretty easy simple and easy to explain. Caius, and Aro to a certain extent, are unmitigated bigots. They have absolutely no tolerance for inter-species mingling, especially a vampire and a shifter. That coupled with their inability to see past that prejudice and recognize your pack as true allies pretty much cemented things in their minds. When they overruled our objections, intimated that we made the deal under false pretenses, and outright ordered us to betray our alliance with you... well… needless to say we're no longer members of the Volturi. And as much as I'd like to blame Edward for everything, I'm sure Caius needed no prompting to come to his ultimate decision, Edward was simply a catalyst." Isabella stated dryly, once Jacob had calmed down enough to listen to her.

"Why should we trust anything you have to say? By your own admittance your… kind… doesn't keep any sort of alliances you make!" Colin demanded abruptly.

Before anyone could answer sarcastically, or otherwise; Rita, one of the female council members, spoke up, realization filling her voice. "Colin, don't you see. She defied her pack by refusing to attack ours. She did not break our Alliance, which in truth was always with her more than the Volturi." That provoked some murmurs throughout the gathered group, apparently putting it in those terms struck deeply at the pack's sense of honor.

Isabella shook her head slowly. "The Volturi aren't like your pack. Neither are most vampire coven's for that matter. You're a family. The Volturi don't think in terms like that."

"But you did defy your leadership for our pack?" Rita insisted with a stubbornness that made Isabella smile.

But Isabella didn't fully agree, so she shook her head unwilling to accept the praise. "I did refuse to betray the alliance yes, but not entirely for noble reasons. I respect your people, but they were admittedly a secondary concern. I defied the Volturi for my daughter… daughters. When it comes to my family, I will fight tooth and claw to give them the freedom to choose their mates, and follow whatever path of life they want. I would give my life for them without hesitation, so that's exactly what I did. The Volturi would take that from them, and I could not allow that under any circumstances. I should've realized years ago that they were wrong for us, but misplaced loyalty and a need to release my own personal demons through the violence they offered, kept me from leaving." Isabella glanced first at Eliza then at Bree before returning to look at the council.

Rita was nodding thoughtfully, a strange respect on her face. Quil was clearly thinking of all the ramifications thoroughly before speaking again. Colin was stewing in anger and resentment. He didn't like being told what to do or talked down to, especially by a vampire.

Jacob was the first to respond, asking quietly. "What are you planning to do now?"

Eliza shot a quick wink at Tekali. "Didn't your wife tell you? We're all going to be bunking with you for a few weeks while we build a new home." Jacob didn't see the wink. "You… wait… Um what? I can't... we don't... have the room." He stumbled over an excuse clumsily.

"Honey, they don't sleep. They don't eat. We have plenty of room." Tekali said playing along, although her offer wasn't entirely playful. Tekali winked back at Eliza, and gave Isabella a welcoming smile to let her know that she was at least open to the possibility.

Jacob caught the wink, but didn't understand the smile. He looked between them for a moment before continuing, "I guess you have a point. Wait, am I missing something?" Eliza and Tekali both started laughing.

"Would it help to know that we're the Swan Coven now?" Bree chipped in brightly, causing heads to turn in her direction.

"Swan Coven?" Jacob shot Isabella an amused grin.

"It's a much cooler name." Eliza nodded earnestly with a grin at Bree. "Now we don't sound like we're named after a dead philosopher." Isabella sighed and rolled her eyes slightly but couldn't keep the smallest hint of an amused smile off her face.

Jacob frowned a little bit, "I have to admit, when we found out about the house blowing up and the Volturi being responsible, it was fairly obvious that you were leaving that coven. But we assumed you were going to tell us that you were joining the Cullens, and that's why they're here." Jacob glanced significantly at Emmett and Rosalie, and then Alice, though his gaze came to rest on Alice and Isabella's joined hands.

It was Alice that spoke up this time, shaking her head as she stepped forward, reluctantly disengaging her hand from Isabella's. "It's the other way around. Isabella has allowed us to join her coven." She looked around and continued at the unspoken questions on the shifter's faces. "I couldn't stay there knowing what Edward had done, which was for also for deeply personal reasons beyond what he did to Isabella. So I asked to join her coven."

"It only took you a hundred years to figure that out?" Jacob snapped in irritation.

Alice opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a snarl from behind her. Realizing the danger Alice spun around to grab Isabella before she could take more than a step forward.

The irritation on Jacob's face was turned to surprise at Isabella's response. On top of the snarl, she was glaring balefully at him. Alice had one hand on Isabella's shoulder and the other on her right forearm, and after only a moment Isabella seemed to calm. Despite her reaction the look on his face was resolute, he refused to back down.

Alice slowly turned around, releasing Isabella's shoulder but she slowly slid her hand down to too take Isabella's hand again, she liked keeping in contact with her since it was a luxury she never thought would be possible less than a month ago. Alice met Jacob's eyes without flinching. "Yes, I screwed up when we left. We all did. I freely admit that. I will never leave again, I'd rather die."

Jacob met her eyes for a full minute before he looked away without conceding anything. "It's easy for you to say that. I was there last time to try and pick up the pieces you left behind." His eyes fixed on Bella's, "How do you know she… they… aren't going to turn around and do the same thing again. Just abandon you high and dry."

Alice's retort was quicker than Isabella's as she stared at Jacob unflinchingly, "I regret leaving, I've held that guilt in my heart every day for a century. I died the day we left, but I did it for my family. I did it for Edward. Who I thought loved her with everything he had. I stayed away from her in the beginning because he claimed her. Yesterday I learned that it was all an elaborate game, a ruse to keep us from indulging in what he believed to be a perverted relationship. He betrayed us in every conceivable way, he kept us apart for a century out of spite, selfishness, and ignorance. Yet I know that's just an excuse, I shouldn't have left. I condemned her to that... that..." Alice seemed to break from the weight of her guilt, and lost total emotional control. She let go and was starting to crumple to her knees, only to be quickly pulled up into Isabella's arms.

Isabella pressed Alice to her tightly, as she wept uncontrollably. The last thing she ever expected was Alice to feel this level of guilt over what Victoria had done. She assumed that she had transferred most of the blame to Edward like she had. She started to rub Alice's back in an attempt to console her, and it did seem to calm her down a little. The raw emotions in Alice's expression seemed to open up a strange hole though, a crack in Isabella's armor that she didn't expect anyone could ever touch again. She felt exposed and vulnerable, and for a very brief moment she wasn't sure it was a bad thing. Alice needed her, and she wasn't about to let go. Her eyes flashed pure black as she looked up at Jacob for a moment.

Jacob stepped back and nearly stumbled over the log at the outburst, Tekali caught him at the last moment and pulled her down beside her with a level of anger he wouldn't have expected. Still there was something he needed to know, what was Alice talking about? Had something happened to Isabella that she'd not told him about?

He clinched his jaw a few times, the curiosity burned in him, but he didn't want to attempt to ask with this audience. He risked the continued fury from his wife and stood again, and carefully met Isabella's eyes. The blackness was slowly fading again, but the anger was still there. He knew how close he was to cross a line he couldn't retreat from so he took a moment to frame his next question carefully.

Except as he was about to speak Rosalie interrupted. "She's been through enough. Leave her alone." Rosalie stood and leveled a warning glare at Jacob.

"I... I'm sorry. I had no idea." Jacob said mostly to Alice, but he was looking at Rosalie.

Alice pulled away then, and looked into Isabella's eyes for a long moment, before standing and brushing herself off and looking at Jacob. For the first time she was actually happy she couldn't form tears, because she knew she would've been a puffy mess. "Apology accepted."

Isabella stood and took Alice's hand again. Marveling at the calmness it created. "To answer your earlier question; We're the Swan Coven, and we are your allies if you'll have us."

Once again it was Quil's calm voice that spoke up, "Please pardon my ignorance, you can imagine that I may not be up on all the intricacies of vampire politics, but what exactly does that mean?"

"Generally? It means that you're looking at everyone in the coven, It means that I speak for our loyalties, and we will choose what is best for us, not some fascist council thousands of miles away. Specifically? Our plan is to stay in the area, one because this is home. Two because the Volturi have declared that your pack is to die and we do not abandon our allies. And three, now that they know Eliza and I are still alive they're not going to pull any punches. They don't like leaving loose ends." Isabella replied, her voice returning to its previously unruffled calm.

"Oh, now you think _we_ need _your_ protection?" Colin sneered at Isabella in disgust.

"Wow. My sister was right. You are a butthead." Bree blurted, prompting a wide grin from Eliza.

Jacob cut things off before they devolved into insults. "How do they know you survived?" He frowned a little bit his eyes going to Isabella who was staring into the fire.

"Once again, courtesy of our asshole brother." Jasper hissed softly, clearly not over his anger from earlier. "He called them and told them. He want revenge in the worst way. Though apparently his actions hardly came as much of a surprise." He glanced at Isabella with a bit of unresolved tension, but didn't vocalize it.

Jacob snorted, "Um… not if you paid any attention like… at all. I totally believe that's something he'd do. At least Bells has been paying attention to that much. Why did you let him ruin it for you then? Those European leeches would have gone on assuming you were dead." He directed his question at Isabella who added a log to Bree's rather impressive blaze.

"That betrayal is a little fresh, so you might want to hold your tongue, dog." Jasper practically spit back.

"Jasper's still a little angry, it was only this afternoon that we found out about Edward's true nature." Adara amended Jasper's thinly veiled threat, defusing it before it escalated. This shifted the question back to Isabella who was stoking the fire to catch onto the new log.

She sighed slightly, and gave Jasper one small glance to acknowledge that she knew the conversation wasn't over. Then she turned around slowly to met every pair of eyes directed at her.

When she finally did respond, her voice was calm and deliberate. "The Volturi would have found out about our survival eventually. Now they know for sure. I… we…" She faltered a little, her next few words held huge implications. It wasn't as if she was hesitant about her intentions, but something in the way all those eyes were looking at her managed to unnerve her a bit. She was used to being stared at in fear or anger, but being stared at in expectation was a new experience. She took a second to gather herself, squaring her shoulders before she scanned the faces of everyone once again. There were frowns all around, as her voice turned cold, and her eyes slowly turned black for all to see, "The Swan Coven is declaring war on the Volturi."

There was stunned silence again for several minutes. Until Jasper finally stood and addressed Isabella directly. " I just want to clarify for everyone's edification, you are declaring war on the biggest and most powerful coven in the world. One that you were just a small part of, I'll remind you. I'll grant that I've never seen fighting prowess like yours, but remember Aro collects vampires with powers like they're trophies. You know how they handle those who don't fall into line. Is there any part of you that thinks he's going to just let this slide?"

"What part of my statement was hard to understand? I know we are not going to be overlooked or forgotten. I kinda doubt an apology would suffice in this case. Nor would I give them one. I mean to face them straight on." Isabella's reply was blunt and straight forward, she knew this conversation with Jasper had to happen now, even if she would've preferred it to happen in a more private setting.

"Then why would you squander the biggest advantage you have? Why would you throw the element of surprise out the window? That was the best tool you had." Jasper asked, though he managed, barely, to keep his tone from being accusatory. He knew he had asked a similar question earlier but the answer had been unsatisfactory, and it didn't seem like the time or place.

Isabella's smile could only be described as predatory. "It's not the best tool we have. I've learned my lessons from the Volturi well. The best tool we have is fear." Jasper frowned but didn't say anything, letting Isabella continue. He could see that he wasn't the only one that looked confused at her statement.

"The Volturi control the vampire world because all of the covens are afraid of them. That's how they keep them in line. Now I will grant that they serve their purpose of keeping our world hidden, but no one has ever called them altruistic. They're like the bogeyman you tell kids about. Step out of line and the Volturi will show up and end it. Behave or the bogeyman will show up and get you! And if the Volturi have to show up, it's rarely to exchange pleasantries." Isabella kept her eyes mostly on the fire as she talked.

"So you're not afraid of them, and that's going to keep you safe?" Jasper's voice was quietly questioning, without being outright challenging. He knew it wouldn't look good if she had a dissenter in her ranks, so he tried to make it look like he was baiting her responses instead of being outright hostile. Although he was tempted to let Jacob take over the line of questioning, because it looked like he was itching to.

Isabella shook her head. "No. I'm going to make _**them **_fear _**us**_." Jasper felt a rise of frustration, and he knew he was about to lose his temper so he backed off, nodding once. Jacob immediately took over.

"How are you going to do that? These Italian leeches sound like they have an army. How do you beat an army with eight vampires? Even if we join you, that won't be enough right?" Jacob was more confused than angry, although he couldn't quite remove the mild fear he felt at the prospect of fighting something so big.

"The Volturi are a force of nature. They're a storm that's going to rain down on us." Jasper interjected, since Jacob's question was almost exactly what he hoped it would be. He was relieved that he wasn't the only one to whom tactics and planning was important. However old he may be, part of him was still a soldier at heart, and the idea that Isabella seemed to be so apathetic toward strategy was something that frustrated him beyond belief.

"If they're a storm, we're going to set fire to the rain." Isabella's almost feral voice was cold and totally devoid of humor." Aro has made a major mistake. He and Caius both regard me as little more than a mostly rabid attack dog; barely kept in check by my daughter. Fit only to be set loose on our enemies and then put back in her cage until the next time." Isabella paused and looked around, taking a moment to squeeze Alice's hand as her voice dropped to a threatening hiss. "They're about to find out just how wrong they are, and in the worst circumstances possible for them."

"What do you mean?" Quil asked, his voice and eyes intent on Isabella.

Isabella met his eyes , "There's a bunch of small fires burning that they're supposed to be working on putting out and during this time… two of his enforcers have slipped the leash and gone rogue. And it's the two enforcers that are completely immune to their most effective weapons. Jane and Alec. If they want to come after us and it has to be physical. That's why they tried to kill us the way they did. Aro didn't want to risk the losses that might occur if it came to a face to face battle. He hoped that by catching us by surprise and blowing us up it would save him the trouble. Aro had every advantage, surprise, the opening shot, knew our weaknesses, and he still _failed_."

Isabella had gotten worked up as she spoke, and for emphasis she took a breath and shrug a little bit. "Aro always has backup plans for backup plans. But this time his backup plan not only failed, but backfired in the worst way possible. Well… in the second worst way possible I guess."

"How's that?" Jacob asked curiously

"The Volturi tried to kill my daughters… and they fucked up." Isabella said, squaring her shoulders. "Leaving us alive was a mistake."

"From what I understand you shouldn't have survived. And what do you mean second worst mistake?" Quil spoke up, his tone curious.

Isabella ignored his first question, she didn't like the implications. "If they had killed my daughter's then the hell I would visit upon them would make them beg for the release of death." Isabella's voice was harsh and cold and devoid of all feeling, making several people present visibly tremble.

"As it is, they've made their choices. They just haven't found out the consequences of their actions yet. They have sown the wind and now they shall reap the whirlwind." Isabella said, her voice retaining that calm tone.

"Interesting statement, Assassin. Prophetic even." A harsh and slightly accented voice seemed to drift over the entire group from outside the circle of the fire. No one was prepared for the voice, because not a trace of scent nor careless sound was made in her approach. Isabella turned with a curious and puzzled expression on her face, then she frowned as confusion overtook her features. The voice put her immediately on guard, causing her to wonder who it was that knew not only her identity, but could have possibly managed to track her here.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Author's notes- Chapter wooohoo!**

**1) I'm sure you started the beginning of this chapter and went O_O w. t. f. Who the eff are these people? Is this the right story? Where's my Isabella? Alice? Eliza? Leah? As I said when I started this, this is a larger story involving a lot of plot lines that get tied into one another. I want to show that this story isn't just confined to Forks, it has impacts all over the world. As for what role these people play? DUN DUN DUN. You'll have to wait and find out. One thing is for sure it'll be fun. **

**2) As always thank you to Samantha Minuet for her amazing work with this story. We originally had this council scene with 8500 words before any back and forth editing. But we had to split it up into at least one further chapter. Otherwise we might have ended up with a 25k word chapter :P **

**3) Secrets and Covenants, our other collaboration has posted chapter three! Take a look! (Samantha Minuet is the primary author for that story.)**

**We started this week with Samantha going back through the first chapters and editing and helping me re-do them. So they're far more detailed, more set up, more insight into the characters. I hope you might take the chance to go back and read. The first chapter has been updated already! With Samantha and I on this together we really wanted to make the entire story ours. Ironically with all the new detail it's now much closer to what I originally envisioned even if it's gotten a massive overhaul. Let us know what you think, review the new chapters with us?.**

**4)** **Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: Blame me for the new characters. But please don't judge yet, they have a very specific purpose that I think you guy are going to love. I had to argue with Kathryn on this one to split up the chapter... there is literally another twelve pages at least to go in the council meeting. I hope you all like it so far, I can't wait to read your thoughts on this one, and please check out Chapter 1… I'm proud of our work!**

**5) Yeah, I call this chapter my Elrond's council. Which people who read the book know was a super long part of the literary Fellowship of the Rings. That's my precedent. I don't really feel like I have to justify it or anything, I like the chapter and think it's necessary even if it's long. Besides, like I said it's fun!**

**6) Please read and review! We love reviews! **

**Next Chapter- Mysterious newcomer.**


	40. The Swan and the Tiger

**~ Chapter 40 ~**

**Send a heartbeat to**  
**The void that cries through you**  
**Relive the pictures that have come to pass**  
**For now we stand alone**  
**The world is lost and blown**  
**And we are flesh and blood disintegrate**  
**With no more to hate**

**Is it bright where you are**  
**Have the people changed**  
**Does it make you happy you're so strange**  
**And in your darkest hour**  
**I hold secrets flame**  
**We can watch the world devoured in it's pain**

**Delivered from the blast**  
**The last of a line of lasts**  
**The pale princess of a palace cracked**  
**And now the kingdom comes**  
**Crashing down undone**  
**And I am a master of a nothing place**

Emma surfaced first, she had been pushing her gift to its limits by keeping track of Oliver as they moved through the dark and murky water, and looking out for where their pursuers were. She wasn't worried about Oliver so much, though she could still feel the panic in him as he worried about what might still be following them. Oliver came up a second later, and immediately took stock of their situation. Even though Emma could tell him that all was well and that their pursuers hadn't continued the chase once they made it to the water, he proceeded to scan the uneven surface of the lake with a careful eye. They faced each other once Oliver was sure of their safety.

"We need to split up." She said quietly. Oliver frowned at her. "We need to warn the Caravelli's, and we also need to get ready to leave and prepare Zoey. I guess it's time for her to make her choice." Emma kept her whisper so low that her voice was almost drowned out by the lapping water surrounding them.

"Fuck, you think they're crazy enough to go after the family? How many of them are there?" Oliver replied with a combination of fear and surprise. If the family was in danger what could they possibly do? Not many covens could match the Cavavelli's, who were one of the more powerful ones in the world, as far as he knew. What Oliver did know was that the Caravelli's had settled the base of their power in Chicago, because it allowed them access to both the east and the west coasts, where they had a multitude of legitimate and illegitimate interests.

"I didn't get an exact number from them, but I did get the impression that they had basically an army of several dozen newborns and those wolf things. Whatever is going on, I don't think this is a random attack. Based on the flashes of thoughts I was able to pick up from their minds…I have reason to believe this is a long thought out plan, being precisely carried out. I dug up some snippets of information from several of them back there, that gave me the impression they are being actively recruited in large numbers, given at least cursory training, and set out on missions. That seems like a very specific organizational structure to me." Emma had spent most of the chase organizing the scattered images and jumbled sentences from the minds of their pursuers. All together it was a mess, but it painted a rather unsettling picture. The only other thing she got was a name, Dr. Tepes.

They made their way to the nearest non-commercial pier, shaking a little to rid themselves of extra water. "All right, we split up? Meet at Uriel's?" Oliver suggested reluctantly. He didn't like the idea of going their separate ways. It was the best option given their situation. His first impulse was to go to the Caravelli's since they weren't exactly friendly, and he didn't want to put Emma in excess danger. Warning them was almost a requirement given their history with the family, but Emma shook her head and motioned for him to go after Zoey. He frowned, and shook his head at her. She narrowed her eyes at him, and silently gestured him towards their apartment in a manner that brooked no argument. Begrudgingly he nodded once in agreement, before taking off.

Emma remained still for several seconds, watching him as he disappeared down an alleyway before turning and heading in the opposite direction. She knew this route all too well, she was making a b-line towards the edge of the home territory of one of the most ruthless coven in the world, and the most dangerous organized crime family in America. She expected to feel the minds of the wolves and vampires after them as she began to move, but none seemed to be lingering near the coastline, which meant they were outside of her limited range. She didn't like the implications of that. She wasn't sure where they had come from, or what was going on. As someone who prided herself on knowing everything that was happening around her at all times, it was not a pleasant experience to be this much in the dark. Once she was on the move she restrained her pace. She could move a lot faster if she needed to, all vampires could, but she sacrificed her speed for stealth and extreme caution. She moved through the canyons of skyscrapers towards Milton's just off of Walton, which was the closest friendly contact she knew of.

The bouncer gave her a sideways look as she approached, taking in her still sodden attire. Emma guessed that he must've been new since she had never seen him before, and she was a semi-regular here. Or it could be because she was still soaked from head to toe, but his casual attitude at least gave her a moment of reprieve. This was Nino George Milton's place. He was a Cappo of the Caravelli family, and one of the only non-family members to have ascended to such a high a level of position and respect. Also as an outsider who worked his way up from the bottom, which made him generally more receptive to freelancers and independents. Nino liked Emma, and had frequently tried to charm her away from Oliver. She had never told him that she and Oliver were only friends, because the thought of being mated to Nino was repulsive.

"Need to speak to Nino. Tell him it's Emma." Emma sighed and leaned against the doorstop to take a breath and calm herself down. Taking the breath didn't really help, because she smelled horrible from the lake water. The bouncer gave her another look that was just as curious, but tinged with a touch of hostility as well. She didn't blame him for the hostility. It was his job to be suspicious and guarded. He pulled out a cell, and texted with a deft thumb, not taking his eyes off of her for a second. For a big guy he was surprisingly dexterous.

She was surprised that he was human, she thought most of the enforcers under Nino's employ were immortals. She was tempted to read his mind but she'd been expending herself quite a lot already, and she was already feeling the need for blood. Shutting down that many minds was far more taxing than she thought it would be, she felt a the flames of thirst burning at her throat, but she pushed it aside. Deciding it was best to feed at home, when she was sure of the purity of the blood. A moment later the bouncer looked up and motioned for her to go inside. She started to gave him a seductive smile out of habit, before realizing that she must've looked a bit like a wet cat.

Once inside, her senses were assaulted by the combination of music with overly loud base, and the heavy smell of sweat and alcohol. Looking around the crowded area, she moved through the din of booze and dancing, working her way over to the bar, where she made the same inquiry that she did at the door. The bartender was even more out of the loop than the bouncer, and took a long time to call over a manager that showed her into a roped off backroom. He was also someone she didn't recognize, and human to boot. Although out of respect for Nino she didn't pry into this stranger's mind. The large space was set up as a small casino complete with roulette, craps, and several card tables. On the back wall was a bank of slot machines and a secondary bar, all of them were empty.

The manager continued past all the tables to another roped off door, that lead to a second secret backroom. This one was devoted to vampires. She'd been there several times, and had a good reputation among the 'blood dolls', since she never went too far. Direct feeding was off the table of course except by invitation of the owner. Especially since Nino spent a lot of time and good money insuring the dolls had some of the purist and richest blood in the city. They may have been slaves, but they lived better than most humans could imagine. They had gourmet food prepared by four star chefs, luxurious living conditions, and a personal groomer that took care of their every physical and fashion need, like one half personal trainer and one half professional valet.

It still disgusted her to an extent, but she understood the appeal for both sides of the equation. Not every vampire was okay with taking life, and most couldn't stomach the taste of animal blood like the famous Olympic Coven of vegetarians. She just always thought of it like a farmer caring for an animal before a county fair or something. Fattening them up, and treating them well so that their blood tasted better. It made her think of the old saying; 'You are what you eat', in this case literally.

Still the manager kept going, past the semi-private booths that were also empty, to a door marked _Private_. She looked at the manager again, a short round man with a thick wiry mustache and a bald spot that he tried to comb over. He gave her a nervous smile when he noticed her examination. His red face and rapidly beating heart set off a warning bell. There were too many humans here, and that made her nervous. The Casino which was never closed, was empty. And not a single vampire was in the back room, which literally never happened. She should've been more observant, but the safety of a known place made her oblivious to obvious warning signs.

She narrowed her gift from a more general wide sweep that would warn her if one of the vampires that attacked her was in range, to a direct focus on this small man. In the short five seconds it took to scan his thoughts she realized this was another set up. She pushed the pudgy man aside, sending him flying into the wall. It was enough to keep him out of any equation for the moment, but on the off chance Nino liked him, she didn't feel the need to squash him. Before the fat man's unconscious form sunk to the ground she kicked down Nino's office door. She could feel the vampire mind on the other side and wasn't in the mood to waste time. At the last moment she directed her gift directly towards Nino, to get a gauge of his mood. Except the mind on the other side of the door wasn't who she expected.

Nino's beheaded corpse was on the floor, and a figure was kneeling over his body stacking up the pieces of it in a tidy pile. Emma stopped and stared in disbelief, the sandy blonde hair of the woman was far too familiar. She pushed into the mind of this new vampire, and instantly pulled back. She had changed her name long ago, but it was definitely her. Emma backed up a couple of steps.

"So you're 'Emma'. I have to say I didn't expect it to be you. Escaping our ambush and gallantly coming to warn the vampire mob, tsk tsk, shame on you." Playful malevolence filled the vampire's voice, as she turned to met Emma's glare, which was filled with more hate than Emma ever thought she would feel towards her old friend. It had been far too long since they parted ways, and time had apparently festered Emma's memory of her.

"I have no quarrel with you. No matter whose company you prefer to keep." Emma took another subtle step backwards, she had no interest in fighting her old 'friend.' No matter how she felt about her now. She couldn't help herself from practically spitting out the word "company" though.

The woman didn't seem to respond for a moment, instead she aggressively dragged a wooden match across a strike pad, and flicked it at the headless body of Nino, which immediately went up like tinder. She regarded Emma silently for a few moments before smiling slowly. "Ah, that may be true. Unfortunately I do have a quarrel with you though. Anyone connected to the Caravelli's needs to be put down. That includes their pet do-gooder investigators. I'm sorry, it really isn't personal... well okay maybe it's a little personal. You want to tell me where your partner 'Oliver' is?" She asked calmly, but the moment she finished the question she didn't hesitate, and rushed towards Emma with a vicious growl.

Emma sighed inwardly, and slammed her gift into the other vampire's mind with such force that the woman literally collapsed on the floor mid-stride, and would've been drooling in a puddle of her own venom if that were possible. She ruthlessly wormed her way through the woman's mind without much restraint, forgoing her usual delicate touch. She knew the damage she was doing, and for once she almost took joy in inflicting the pain it caused. Of the many things Emma managed to derive from Harley's mind, most of it was inane and pointless. Like her new name, chosen for truly superficial reasons. At least Emma's own reasons for changing her name had personal significance.

"Harley? Really? That's what your calling yourself now? Oh! You thought your name was too nice and human. God, you really always were a stupid, selfish, insipid girl. I wish I had the time to wipe your mind clean, but I have other pressing business. Now look, I need you to listen to me very carefully. You will not follow us, you will not remember us, and you will never speak our names to anyone, ever. Do you understand?" Emma's voice echoed in the other vampire's mind and attached itself to her memories as an absolute command. Harley mumbled a 'yes' accompanied by a vague nod of assent. "Good, now sleep. I know it's hard, but you need it."

Emma sifted through what memories she could without tripping over her own implanted command, while she waited for Harley to lose consciousness. It was something that always gave her a lift. It wasn't easy to make a vampire lose consciousness, since it was contrary to their nature, but it gave her a perverse pleasure to do it no matter the trouble. Once she was unconscious, Emma took one last lingering look at Harley, pushing the sorting and organizing of the fractured pile of memories she managed to pull from her, to the back of her mind.

She normally would've been able to get a much clearer and deeper idea of what they were dealing with, but she was straining as it was. It was a testament to just how much she had overexerted herself earlier in the evening, that she was barely able to command a witless vampire into unconsciousness, and dig through her mind with none of her usual care and finesse. She sighed, and clenched her eyes shut for a moment, in an attempt to fight off the monster of a migraine threatening to form behind her eyes.

Then she left the club as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. Thankfully Harley didn't have any backup, since they were apparently otherwise engaged. Emma made it out to a parking garage ten or so blocks away, and immediately cloaked herself from view while she took stock of her situation. It wasn't the best defense in the world, since not every mind was susceptible to mental trickery, and it was even more risky when she'd over exerted herself so much already, but it worked in a pinch.

She finally got a better picture of the attack, the ambush set up for them was really was only one of many. She wasn't sure since she was connecting the dots from a dozen separate points of view, but it felt like it was directly connected to the rumors of the attacks they had heard were happening in other parts of the world. What bothered her was that the Volturi hadn't interfered, or if they had it wasn't common knowledge, which was unlikely given their reputation.

She brought the task she'd shoved on the back burner of her mind to her attention, and began to actively sift through the barely organized chaos of Harley's memories. Minds were impossible to predict, everyone had a unique way of organizing their memories, and each was a puzzle that needed to be solved. She didn't have time to work out all the details in the short time she had. So she went for surface information, and the only thing that had been dominating Harley's thoughts was the attack against the Caravelli's, which was already underway.

Emma knew she was probably already too late, but she had to try. So moved quickly towards the Caravelli family's main house, keeping as much to the shadows possible. Two blocks away she could see the fire, and the plume of thick smoke billowing up into the dark sky. She didn't have to get closer to know what that meant, and the numerous fire engine sirens blaring their mournful cry into the careless city, made her even less inclined to investigate. Yet, she did owe the family a measure of loyalty. They had been gracious with her on more than one occasion.

With a deep sigh she climbed up onto the roof of a nearby apartment building, and jumped over rooftops the final two blocks until she could see the once proud and expansive estate. The flares of purple fire were a telltale sign of it's true purpose, to destroy vampire remains. The house itself was engulfed in a blaze so intense that she could feel the heat from hundreds of feet away.

Without so much as a prayer for the fallen, she turned and made a b-line for Uriel's. She didn't know what Oliver was dealing with, although she hoped he was faring better than her, for Zoey's sake, but her obligation to warn the Caravelli coven was over. Now she had to look out for herself and her… family.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX**

The cool voice caused ripples of reaction through the group. It provoked different reactions in the people gathered around the fire. For the wolves it was almost as if a kind of primal rage washed over them unilaterally. The human snarls almost instantly gave way to wolf growls as five of the younger shifters phased and launched themselves towards the threat. Despite them being in a meeting with vampires, someone sneaking up on them still set them off. Even the elder wolves all fought that initial instinctual pull, but managed to remain in place.

Jacob frowned, and turned towards his pups with frustration and anger. His voice cracked like a whip, and rang with pure authority as he called out over even the sound of their snarls. "Heel!" The humiliating command forced the younger wolves to stop in place as if they'd suddenly run over a trap of superglue. More than one of them started to shift their weight back and forth slightly, their instincts to fight combating their instinctual need to obey their Alpha, though none of their fight instincts were strong enough to override the alpha's command. Still, even though there was ten meters of distance between them and the strange vampire, they began to snap and growl viciously at her.

Isabella reacted a split second before the rest of her Coven who all stood in unison and turned towards the potential threat. Isabella frowned in confusion as she stepped slowly around the fire to approach the figure, Alice kept to her side, pulled there by their joined hands. Eliza was moving a moment after her mother. Bree was right behind them, though she attempted to stand on her tip toes to see over the shoulders of those in front of her to see the new arrival first. Leah and Seth soon joined their respective mate's sides. Rosalie joined the ranks next to Eliza and Emmett followed right behind her.

Jasper took a more tactical approach, and began to survey the surrounding forest for any more unexpected enemies. Adara looked to her husband for a moment before splitting off from him to move to the opposite side that Jasper had taken, stretching out her senses to take in everything. Yet given the relatively low light, and the ambient noise of the people around her, she knew it was unlikely she was going to pick up much of anything beyond the firelight. The Council all stood but stayed in place, and the bulk of the pack all quickly surrounded them for protection.

Jacob and Tekali soon joined Isabella and Alice as they met the stranger's unflinching and clearly hostile gaze. The stranger stood still as the wolves threatened her, almost as if she didn't care or wasn't worried about the danger they posed.

They all took in her simple yet strangely menacing appearance. She didn't seem dangerous on casual inspection, but the nature of her posture and the deadly fire behind her eyes immediately belied that impression. She was of medium height and slender, her oval face and luxuriously glossy black hair was shadowed in the low light, and her dark crimson eyes flicked across the faces of all present as if she were judging their level of threat. She was darkly clothed, but her clothing was highly modified to include padding and armor. The stylized look was mostly for show, and to conceal weapons.

Isabella never could figure out how they had forged weapons strong enough to that someone with her skill could inflict wounds on vampires. It was those weapons that gave her pause more than anything, not that they were much more than a deterrent to her, but Mei was good enough that she could slow her down and turn the fight in her favor. Her very long hair obscured her face when Isabella met her eyes, but there was no mistaking that glare. Isabella almost shook her head in continued confusion, there was no logical reason for her presence especially here and now.

"Mei?" Eliza said with curiosity, and a bit of relief.

"Executioner." Mei nodded at Eliza once, and then turned to Isabella again. "Assassin." Mei nodded slightly in respect. "Call off your mongrels, now." Her voice was a soft hiss and there was nothing friendly in her tone or her gaze.

Isabella examined Mei's expression, and realized this wasn't any kind of friendly visit. There was hatred in her eyes. She took a step forward to address her as the leader of the group. Alice stayed at her side, unwilling to let go of her hand. When Isabella spoke, her voice was more cautious than Eliza's exclamation, "Mei, this is an unexpected surprise. I hope you don't find it offensive to ask what are you doing here?"

"Surprised that I survived the purge? Or Surprised I would come here?" Mei's voice hissed out, practically vibrating with rage before she seemed to calm herself.

"I would apologize for my interruption, but my patience is long exhausted. My manners fail me, yet honor demands me to claim vengeance against you. As is, I am giving you far more than you deserve out of respect to our previous associations, Assassin, yet that debt and those tenuous ties are nowhere near enough for me to forgive your despicable transgressions against my Coven. So without any undo malice, I challenge you to single combat to the death. If you have any honor left that is." Mei's voice was controlled, and far too formal.

"Why?" Isabella asked, ignoring Jacob's questioning glare. Isabella straightened her expression into a neutral one, even though she was wary and increasingly confused by her old ally's strange appearance. She had learned long ago to be cautious, and her instincts were brimming with the need to meet this challenge head on. Only her complete bafflement kept her from immediately engaging.

"You are the biggest threat at the moment to be perfectly honest, and though it's unlikely my vengeance would be sated by your death. If you promise to fight me honorably, then I will not be forced slaughter all your companions, vampires and curs alike." Mei's voice broke slightly, and the emotion behind her threats momentarily flooded her face with emotion, before going flat again.

Isabella stiffened and started to pull her hand from Alice's, expecting resistance, but Alice quickly released her and slowly stepped backwards, to disappear behind the group. Isabella could almost feel her move away. She wanted to ask why, but the situation hardly gave her an opportunity. Reluctantly Isabella scanned Mei's face, despite the other vampire's attempt to keep a mask of indifference and calm up, Isabella was intimately familiar with anger and it's power. She recognized the towering rage that was bubbling inside the vampire.

Isabella didn't want to think of the brutality Mei was capable of with that level of anger, and with this amount of rage she had no idea what Mei would do, or who would be injured or killed if this fell apart into a larger confrontation. While Isabella was confident in herself, if Mei could win in a fight against her, the rest of the Coven might be in moderate trouble. Well they would be if Eliza wasn't around. She was dangerous because Mei was bonded with... Isabella realized her mistake even as the one of the young wolves standing between her and Mei seemed to snap forward in preparation to launch himself in attack. Jacob opened his mouth to snap a reprimand at the wolf, but it was too late.

The young wolf leapt with a diminutive growl, its wiry legs pounding against the soft grass towards a very ambivalent Mei. Then a vicious roar so loud and intimidating, that even Isabella felt an instinctual twinge, erupted from the tree line at Mei's back. In the next instant, Isabella started to move in an attempt intercede knowing what was about to come, Jacob phased to take down his pup almost in unison with Isabella. Before either could cover even half the distance a giant figure leapt up beside Mei.

The creature stood six and a half feet at the shoulder, larger than any of the wolves, even Jacob. The beast looked like a tiger but it's coloring was unnatural, with black fur and white stripes, it seemed like it was a photographic negative of a white Asian tiger. The feline crouched in a defensive posture, ready to stop the solitary wolf from hurting its companion. Then the tiger seemed to notice the age and relative strength of the one charging and straightened up to its full height and issued a roar that was more of rebuke than outright challenge.

The pup froze mid-stride, and instantly cowered at the sudden appearance of this new and powerful shifter, its presence practically radiated age and strength. Isabella stopped as well, but for a very different reason. She didn't want to engage Mei's companion, before she answered the challenge posed to her. Jacob on the other hand only heard the roar, and jumped in front of the younger wolf and puffed out his chest to meet this newcomer. His own instincts took over as he let out his own growl of challenge at the tiger who examined him with a curious eye.

He was by far the biggest wolf the tiger had ever seen, and by its growl, it wasn't sure how much of a threat he posed. The tiger flicked it's eyes at Mei, in a silent exchange that not even Isabella and Eliza understood, though the tiger's attention never wavered from Jacob, as they sized each other up. After several more seconds it was clear that neither was ready to back down.

Isabella wanted to step forward and pull Jacob back by the scruff of his neck but she knew in this case it was probably useless, since Mei had threatened the pack, even though it was only by extension. Her thoughts were interrupted as Eliza's voice burst into her mind. _**"Her challenge is personal." **_

_**"I noticed. Could you elaborate, or did you just feel like stating the obvious?" **_Isabella said feeling indecisive. She was half considering accepting the challenge to defuse the situation.

Eliza sighed, before expanding on her remarks. _**"That means she thinks you have gravely wronged her in some way. Maybe you should ask her why."**_

Isabella didn't take the time to appreciate her daughter acting as the logical one for once. "Why are you challenging me now? I believe it is my right to know." Isabella asked as she stepped closer to Mei, even though she deliberately kept herself parallel to Jacob instead of out in front of him, even though she did take a few steps beyond his position.

She could see Mei's face clearly, her expression was still neutral, with a touch of grim determination, but she also looked a bit confused by the question. Her pale skin was flawless, except for two faint crescent shaped scars underneath each eye. The scars followed the curve of her eyes almost perfectly, and were mirror images of one another. Isabella had always been curious about them, but never had the opportunity to ask her about them. Still from what she could tell they were very likely ritual in nature.

"You and your… group of mongrels slaughtered my Coven, Assassin." Disgust and a look of betrayal framed Mei's eyes. Her expression had shifted into one of unrelenting hostility. She looked like she was ready to leap forward and strike at any moment. Her statement was accompanied by a snarl from the tiger at her side.

Isabella blinked in surprise at that statement. "I… did what?" She had no idea what Mei was talking about, yet the nature of her challenge couldn't be overlooked. Mei could've chosen a much more vulnerable situation to present herself. She wouldn't have tossed out an honor challenge without a valid reason.

Mei's expression faltered slightly to confusion and then to suspicion, her stance became more tense and wary. "I will not repeat myself." She said narrowing her eyes.

"The _Oyabun_ is dead?" Eliza questioned, her voice breaking in shock, and her expression absolutely stunned.

"Yes, Executioner… we are the only _Kyodai_ left." She lowered her head, pain etched on her expression for just a moment. Before her head shot back up, leveling a dangerous glare at everyone standing before her. Her suspicion breaking back into anger twisting her features with the fury she could no longer conceal, though there was a trace of confusion mixed in as well.

Seeing the confusion on both Eliza and Isabella's face she practically spat out, "You assaulted and utterly destroyed my coven. You left none alive. Why would you feign innocence now? I see proof right before my eyes!" Her voice broke a little from indignation, as she motioned towards Jacob. There was an accompanying growl from the tiger beside her.

Isabella's voice was sharp in response, and her eyes never left Mei's. "When and where did this happen?"

Now Mei's anger seemed to fall completely into desperation and confusion. She leaned forward, ready to strike but thought the better of it and answered the question. "A week ago, you razed our home to the ground. You left nothing behind but the smell of burning corpses. Thousands of years of experiences and relations all gone."

Eliza was quick to interject herself, "It wasn't us. We've not left this country for almost three months. And all of us have been here for weeks now. Why do you think it was us?"

Mei didn't let her guard down, but she seemed to calm a little bit. This raised more questions than she could answer, but it solved one dilemma in her heart. A part of her refused to believe Isabella capable of that kind of wanton cruelty or at the very least it was unlikely that she was capable of this kind of malicious deception, the Assassin was far too blunt and arrogant for that. "One of our members received a warning from the Volturi, detailing a threat of attacks on large Covens. The attackers consisted of groups of vampires, usually young bloods, and some wolves. We were told that the Mexico City Coven has already fallen. Though apparently the Volturi themselves foiled an attempt on another coven."

Isabella nodded slightly. "True, at the time." At Mei's puzzled expression, Isabella expanded slightly. "Eliza and I did the foiling here for the Volturi, working with the Quileute's." She gestured at the pack for emphasis.

Mei glanced around but didn't respond at first, before elaborating on her part of the story. "I was gone when we received this warning, dealing with another issue. I returned two days later to find my home in ruins and everyone dead. The only traces that Kira could pick up were from unknown vampires, young bloods, and the overwhelming stench of dog."

Isabella nodded again, "That sounds like the same kind of group that attacked the Cullens and Denali covens here last week. Shifters, newborns, and a few more mature vampires leading them. Eliza even told Aro to spread the warning that covens were being attacked. Though I'm curious, if you were gone when it was received, how you knew about the warning."

Mei frowned a little bit. "When the warning was received they sent a text message out to all of us on mission. They had all returned save me and Kira, we were... distracted. A prey we were chasing had been proving particularly problematic, and had been eluding us for weeks. When we came back and found… all that remained… of our home, I contacted the Volturi to find out if they had any more information about who had done this to us… to my family. Aro informed me about the wolf pack here, and that this was the only location they'd ever had confirmed reports. So we set out to avenge our coven mates. We have been in the area for days scouting. We found the coven in the house a few miles from here. Rather a large one, over 15 vampires in one place, all vegetarians, with scent lines of wolves crisscrossing their territory I knew we had found our target."

She glanced around at the group, her sentences returned to their rather formal and marginally clipped intonation. "Imagine our surprise when we slip by the house and see the Executioner and the Assassin. Clearly more was going on than we knew. Then Aro contacted us a few hours ago to say that some of his own coven members were betraying him and working with the wolves. _Uragiru_! One too many coincidences. Wolves and vampires, and two Volturi. We were going to attack the wolves tonight, but my coven owed you a debt, so honor demanded that I offer you combat before attacking." Her tone slipped back into one of accusation, as anger clouded her face again.

Isabella sighed a little bit, her voice almost musing as she began to talk to herself. "Convenient. Aro's all about not wasting resources. Sending you out here to eliminate the Quileute's would take care of a possible problem with no risk to any of his precious guard. Once his initial attack failed, he may have been hoping that you'd manage to kill one or both of us, and remove the threat we pose."

_**"That sounds like something he'd do." **_Eliza quipped in Isabella's head.

Mei was watching Isabella, though her expression seemed unsurprised, "Initial attack? Are you saying he has already made a move against you? Are you confirming that the Assassin and the Executioner are no longer members of the Volturi?"

Isabella bowed slowly at her waist and shook her head slowly. "I promise to elaborate further on my... relationship with the Volturi, but first I must apologize formally. I cannot accept your challenge. We are not responsible for the destruction of your coven… and if you can bear with me for a few minutes I think I can prove it. That is, if your partner's senses are as sharp as you always claimed."

Mei frowned and tilted her head curiously, once again suspicious.

Isabella paused and looked at the tiger, while she gestured at the Quileute's, "Kira, if you would use your senses and really smell our companions, I know you're just smelling dog, but if you can sense past that, I believe you'll find they have a distinctively different scent from the wolves whose traces you detected around your home. And by different, I mean the other's will have seemed almost unnatural or artificial. We don't believe they're natural shifters like you."

Jacob waited, hackles raised. Isabella glanced at him and sighed. "We need to let Kira do her thing." He tensed up a little and closed his mouth. The tiger looked wary, but stepped forward and sniffed at him anyway. After a few seconds of examination she stepped back and sneezed. Jacob barked once in petulant protest, Eliza could almost hear his cries of indignation.

The pack all waited for several long moments, their eyes all trained on Mei and her tiger, looking for the slightest twitch of aggression. Tekali tilted her head towards Eliza and asked in a whisper, "Not to seem intrusive, but who exactly are they?"

Eliza frowned and looked at her with a bit of hesitation before responding in a similarly whispered tone. "They're… Yakuza, lieutenants and enforcers from the fourth family no human knows about. We met them during a mission to Japan maybe twenty years ago. We worked together on an uprising of sorts in Toyko."

"So that's the debt she was talking about?" Tekali asked quietly

"Not exactly, there was a... situation that Mom decided couldn't be left the way the Volturi wanted. We went against orders, but it saved face for Mei and her family. That wasn't exactly an easy time for us, but it improved relations between the two covens so we were forgiven. Aro was relatively pleased, Caius was pissed for months." Eliza spoke very quickly, and Tekali only caught half of it. Still it answered her question so she nodded and went back to observing the situation.

The tiger finally nodded it's large head slowly at Mei who looked from her companion to Isabella with a look of disbelief. "So it wasn't these wolves. That doesn't really prove anything. Tell me Assassin, if it was not you… who is responsible?"

Isabella sighed a little bit, and her shoulder dropped slightly. It was only then that the people around her realized that she had been tensed up for a fight during the entire conversation. "The proof is minimal beyond my own extrapolations of events and my daughter's firsthand accounts, we don't claim to know his game yet, but I am certain the vampire who is directly responsible for these attacks, goes by the name Joham. If that _is_ the case, I guarantee that his days are numbered, because he is my enemy as well."

"Our enemy." Rosalie piped up from behind Isabella. Rosalie's continued support caught Isabella off guard. Isabella wasn't sure if she felt more or less incredulous about it, the more it happened. Was she really showing loyalty and belief in Isabella, or was she trying too hard? Isabella didn't know, and wasn't sure she cared. If Rosalie wanted a fresh slate, and a chance to truly build a place for herself in the Coven, Isabella wasn't about to stop her. Still she couldn't let that distract her, so she quickly covered her momentary disquiet by taking another deep breath.

Mei regarded Isabella for almost a full minute before the slightest hint of humor crossed her face. "You never do things in small measures do you Assassin?" Isabella's quirked an eyebrow at Mei before she continued, "You're not only hunted by your former coven, one even we feared to cross, but you're also in conflict with this other coven who have been exterminating other powerful covens all over the world."

"We do seem to be gathering a collection of enemies. I wonder if there's a set of playing cards we could get with their faces on them!" Eliza grinned a little bit, now that the general tension seemed to be ebbing.

Mei turned her attention to Eliza, as the tiger beside her made a strange huffing sound. "I see you haven't lost your sense of humor Executioner."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Eliza? And hey, Kira thought it was funny." Eliza motioned at the tiger with a tilt of her head as she grinned back, causing Mei to nod slightly in acknowledgement, and then shoot a slightly betrayed look down at the tiger beside her.

"Jacob, now that any danger has passed why don't you and the others go shift back and put on some clothes?" Isabella's serious tone brought the conversation back to topic. Jacob looked away from the tiger for the first time since he shifted, and then nodded once in acknowledgement before growling at the others who were still phased to follow him. Then he turned and trotted away from the group. Alice was suddenly there taking Isabella's hand as soon as Jacob disappeared beyond the tree line. Isabella scowled at her slightly, she had vanished at the worst possible time.

Isabella turned her head back to look at Mei, and tilted it curiously, "Now that you know the truth, what will you do?"

Mei frowned a little bit, for the first time she lost her rigid posture and she slumped slightly. "I… don't know. I accept what you say is truth. To be honest I was loath to call you enemy. However, I need to find this… Joham, because he will pay dearly for his actions. Which brings me to the other point. If you are the wronged party, if you were the one that is innocent of these charges, I also must redress Aro and the Volturi for their deliberate attempt to deceive us. Both must be dealt with as a matter of honor."

"Well… now that things are calmed down, and we know Mom doesn't have to kick the crap out of you, why don't you ask her if you can join us?" Heads once again whipped around to stare at Bree whose expression was earnest. Even Eliza made a fish face of astonishment, before she burst out in laughter. Even the tiger next to Mei stared at Bree for several seconds before making a huffing sound that could be interpreted as laughter.

Isabella groaned and ran a hand over her face in exasperation.

Bree looked around at the faces all turning to stare at her, an abashed expression crossing her face, though she didn't withdraw this time, instead she got slightly defensive, "What? Those Volturi people tried to blow us up and you said they'd be coming for us. Not to mention Dr. Tepes, or Joham or whatever his name is, doesn't seem like he's going to let things slide either. So won't they both be after us eventually? Besides Mom already promised to get Joham back for what he did to me, and Eliza. And Aro's already declared war on us. So like the enemy of our enemy thing should apply here? Right?"

No one answered her so she shrugged. "Okay then, I'll shut up now." Bree shut her mouth audibly, and pulled Seth close to her, seeming to shrink slightly from the silence. When no one reacted she seemed to lose a bit of the confidence she had displayed as she looked around nervously. Seth was taken a little by surprise, but after his initial surprise he didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

Mei stared at Bree for several seconds as the silence stretched. Finally an amused smile broke across her face. "I like this one, Assassin." Abruptly Mei's eyes narrowed and she stepped forward several paces, her eyes boring into Bree's, as she inhaled deeply. Isabella and Rosalie both tensed but Isabella allowed Mei to step close, so Rosalie didn't voice her objections.

Bree shot a frightened glance at Isabella before she looked up at Mei nervously, though she didn't back down even after the Asian vampire stepped back to resume her former position again.

Mei turned her head to regard Isabella, her expression curious again. "She is different, like you and the Executioner. Of course she shares Eliza's gift of diplomacy, and I can see the resemblance. Is this the daughter you referred to?" She asked half rhetorically.

"She is a relatively new addition to the family. This is Bree. Bree this is Mei, and Kira. They're… friends of a sort." Isabella said firmly, injecting pride into her voice so that Mei would understand her significance.

Mei nodded slightly in acknowledgement, and gave Bree a hint of a smile.

Isabella turned to glance at the tiger whose pose was now far more relaxed than it had been earlier. "We are going to be talking a bit, you know you can go ahead and shift back."

Mei actually looked abashed. "That's alright. We don't have a change of clothes convenient at the moment. While Kira isn't shy, and I don't think she'd mind, I'm not quite so prepared for her to be unclothed in front of so many."

Isabella nodded in understanding, and glanced back at Tekali who immediately caught onto what Isabella was asking. "If you don't object, we might have an extra set of clothes. If not, that's fine."

Mei nodded a little bit, after glancing at the tiger who nodded as well. Tekali dug into the bag she brought and pulled out a pair of shorts and a shirt stepping forward to hand them cautiously to Mei. "I'm sorry if those don't fit, they're sized to fit me…"

Mei looked at the jean shorts and light tee-shirt Tekali handed her, she looked Tekali up and down a moment, "They should be fine. My thanks." She turned and simply laid the clothes on the back of the tiger's neck, and then pointed away from the group. The tiger seemed to sigh slightly but it turned and walked slowly away from the gathering.

"We have to finish our council meeting, and then we can talk, and I'll give you all the information we have. We'll honor whatever decision you make afterwards" Isabella stated, and then paused and looked around, her voice rising. "I promise that no one here will harm you. That extends to both of you, while you remain here this visit you are under our protection.." Isabella made it a statement, almost daring people to question it.

"That's right. We promise, no fighting. Though I'm hoping you and…. Kira was it? Will be willing to talk with us a bit. You're the first… um… non-wolf shifter we've ever run into." Jacob said, as he returned to the camp fire, clad in just a pair of jean shorts.

"I accept your terms." After a few uncomfortable minutes while the rest of the wolves returned with clothes, and then finally Kira strutted out of shadows towards Mei. She seemed slightly younger than her companion, but had silvery white hair that flowed over her shoulders like mercury. Her eyes were so brightly silver they practically glowed, and her seductive smile seemed vaguely aloof and detached as if she knew exactly what was on the minds of everyone who watched her. Even in clothes that were loose on her, she screamed sexuality as she curled her arms around Mei's shoulders from behind possessively. She left absolutely no doubt as to the relationship between the two women.

Together they moved into the crowd and everyone parted for them. Isabella and Alice started to give their seats to the duo, but Adara and Jasper beat them to the punch. Jasper gave the newcomer a suspicious look, and didn't flinch when Kira looked back at him with a dangerous yet playful glare.

Isabella began to make introductions of everyone, speaking for Mei and Kira since they were now guests of the Swan Coven. Everyone was pleasant enough considering the drama, but were also on their guard.

After the formal introductions were over Jacob leaned over to Isabella, and half-whispered. "So missions, I get that. What happened that was enough to engender this much... trust. How exactly do you guys know each other?" It was clear that his whispering hadn't done much good because everyone was quiet as they listened for Isabella's response.

Isabella lifted her eyes and said somewhat evasively, "We provided some services as part of a... deal between the Volturi and the Ketsueki-ka. It's a long story, possibly best saved for later."

Mei however tilted her head curiously, and looked at Jacob and with a raised eyebrow. Her tone reflected slight amusement, "They have not told you why the Executioner is never allowed to drive a boat? Ever again?"

"That was an accident!" Eliza blurted out, looking embarrassed

Kira chortled, "Right, you sank two boats, and blew up half a pier. Oh and that tanker spent the next eighteen months in dry dock to patch up that hole you poked in its side. That could be written off as an accident, but I clearly remember the "Geronimo" coming from the water as the boat plowed into that yacht." Her voice had a very slight accent, but she could've been raised in America for all anyone in the group could tell.

Everyone was staring at Kira, then turned towards a very embarrassed Eliza, who mumbled. "I killed the bastard though."

"As I said, a story for another time." Isabella spoke up before anyone question Eliza further. As she realized that Alice had disappeared for a time, which meant only one thing... vision. The realization released some tension inside of her, she had been more than a little bothered by the fact that Alice had chosen to leave her side. Now Isabella realized that Alice was just trying to get some space between herself and the shifters for some clarity.

She turned and looked at Alice pointedly, who had been carefully avoiding everyone's eyes. The direct attention was too much though, and she reluctantly met Isabella's gaze.

"So Alice, what did you see?" Isabella asked softly.

Alice smiled, but she held back the excitement in her heart that Isabella was able to read her so well. She took a deep breath to cover her emotions, before starting to explain her vision. "Caius was having a screaming fit. Aro decided he's going to send a 'few' more of their recruits, and a person called _Andres. _Also, despite some reluctance on Aro's part, Caius insisted on sending someone named _Cornelius_? I got the impression that it was not a fight settled amicably." Alice ended with clear curiosity, she was clearly asking Isabella who he was to cause so much contention.

Isabella turned to Eliza with a thoughtful expression. "That last one is… unexpected."

Eliza was frowning and looking at her mother seriously, "Not so much. I'm sure he practically jumped at the chance."

Isabella frowned further, "He only leaves when he specifically requests to, and he only requests to because it might provide some entertainment, a break from the tedium and boredom of life there. Although I don't think he's left Volterra in four hundred years. "

"Exactly. You know how he feels. He's been waiting for this for years." Eliza countered, a trace of bitterness in her voice.

"Pardon me for being the clueless one, but who are Andres and Cornelius?" Jasper asked with more than a little concern.

"A couple of asshats from the Volturi guard." Bree spoke up, watching her sister and her mother for a reaction. She had managed to connect the names to memories that she had seen from the other two.

Eliza smiled at her sister, before expanding on her comment. "They are more than that, okay Andres isn't… he's well... he's… a giant idiot; but one that can hit really _really_ hard." Eliza replied with a roll of her eyes and a look of disgust on her face.

"He's your basic strongman. He's way stronger than most vampires, but that's all he's got. He has none of Felix's speed or finesse. He's the kind that would use a sledgehammer to open a door before knocking or checking to see if it's unlocked." Isabella explained, giving both her daughters a slightly reproving look. Not for interjecting, but for getting the information marginally wrong.

"He is also a total pig who hates me because I laughed in his face when he tried to 'court' me. He just wanted in my pants. He's a favorite of Caius though, because he revels in cruelty. He's used to getting what he wants, by force if necessary, but he wouldn't try that with me because of Mom." Eliza narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Cornelius though… he's a different story." Eliza met her mother's eyes, cringing inwardly at the thought of the bastard.

Isabella gave her a nod of approval, and Eliza smiled widely. It was a small thing, but she liked it when Isabella was proud of her.

Bree felt Eliza's cringe, so she looked deeper into their shared memories and shuddered. _**"Oh... he's nasty." **_She sent along the connection. Eliza squeezed her shoulder, she didn't like to expose Bree to their darker memories, but she wasn't going to hide her past from her.

"Care to fill us in?" Jacob asked with interest, his attention focused on Isabella.

Isabella shrugged lithely, as she looked around. "Cornelius is a fighter..." Her tone was pensive and she looked thoughtful as she thought how to properly explain his personality. "He's old, though I never found out exactly how old. He was turned somewhere between fifteen-hundred and two thousand years ago, which means he nearly has the strength and power of an ancient. From what I understand, he was a fierce fighter, who had a habit of pulling out the potential hidden within an individual, his trainees were some of the most deadly in history."

Isabella's expression grew distant as she thought back to her time with him, her eyes were far away as she stared into the fire. She still felt distracted and her voice reflected that as she continued. "He was a peerless and merciless fighter in life, and he became nearly unparalleled after he was turned. Combat, being a soldier and warrior was the only life he knew, and I think it was the only life he ever wanted. Aro turned him, and put him in charge of training his guard. A post he held for many years. He trained a lot of the Volturi Guard for hundreds of years. His gift for teaching translated into an actual power as a vampire. He was uniquely able to draw out the best qualities of his students, forging them into weapons without equal. It's one of the reasons Felix and Demetri are so deadly even without gifts of their own. He turned out a guard that quickly made the Volturi feared throughout the world, that was until he simply and rather abruptly stopped. He left the position over seven hundred years ago..."

"Left?" Jasper interrupted, his voice full of curiously and a touch of fear, as he watched Isabella trail off.

Eliza picked up the story, looking around as she spoke, "I heard he went to the Council and told them that none of the new recruits had the dedication he required of them, or the talent he looked for, and he refused to waste his time. From what I understand, both Caius and Aro objected strenuously, but he wasn't exactly someone they wanted to contradict, so they backed down. He remained as part of the Volturi, and would occasionally accept or ask for duties that he deemed challenging. Mostly though, he remained near the training compound, and sparring facilities. Watching, perhaps waiting for a worthy student. Aro was pleased with this because he hoped that it meant that Cornelius was just taking a break. He asked him repeatedly over the years to re-assume his position, or to accept the occasionally gifted student for extra training. He always refused… until Mom showed up."

Once again feeling eyes all trained on her, Isabella didn't notice them so much as felt their stares. So she sighed and picked up the narrative. "When I first got to the Volturi, they immediately put me into training, because I wasn't exactly... pleasant to deal with."

Eliza couldn't help but laughing out loud. "That's putting it mildly. Even after she started training, she was nearly impossible to deal with, she dismembered at least a dozen instructors over those first few years. With one of them I think she knocked his head off half a dozen times."

Isabella's eyes fixed on Eliza in a slightly scolding tone, "It wasn't that I was a better fighter, I wasn't. I was barely more than a savage at that point. I just kept overwhelming them with sheer ferocity. Cornelius made the decision to step in. He... humbled me, repeatedly. He showed me I couldn't always count on being stronger and being angrier than the other person, that it didn't always translate into coming out on top in a fight. Then he agreed to train me."

Isabella looked around with a slightly guilty look on her face. "I was his project for the next few years. I don't think either of us left the training room for more than a few hours during the time. He helped focus my rage to an extent. I won't go so far as to call us friends, but we were friendly. Until we had a falling out."

"A falling out?" Rosalie asked, her expression suspicious.

"They had a falling out because of me." Eliza said quietly.

Isabella shook her head quickly, her eyes flashing with compassion. "No. You were mine, and I didn't care what anyone thought, but his objections weren't because of you. We had a falling out because he proved to be the opposite of what he preached. He couldn't adapt, and I could. I quickly over took his skills, and started to best him. He didn't like that at all. It wasn't just strength or speed, I was able to match him in skill and execution as well, and that made him cautious. I don't know if it became a self fulfilling prophecy or what, but he became more tentative in battle and it affected him."

Eliza looked around, and explained more to the people there than to argue with her mother. They'd had this argument before, and it never went anywhere. Eliza still felt guilty about the whole thing. "She won't admit it but it wasn't that. He was proud of her until I came along. He had the same views as Caius. He saw me as an abomination that should be destroyed. The very idea of a half-breed filled him with revulsion. When the council agreed to let me live, he was furious. He privately issued Mom an ultimatum. She needed to destroy me. Not that I know what that would have accomplished since she was changed too. But Mom obviously refused. As far as I know they haven't spoken since."

"Well yes, that's true. That was hardly the reason for his hatred though. As for his ultimatum, it resulted in him being thrown through the exterior wall on the north side of Volterra. Thankfully nobody noticed it since it was the middle of the night, but they had a time of it rebuilding the stone work. I think that was the final straw, I'd effectively rubbed salt in his wounds in being a better student than most of his other recruits. Then when I started training Eliza and she surpassed recruits that had been training for over a decade in a matter of months... actually she progressed to nearly my level after only a few years, still I think that cemented his beliefs that we were both abominations more than anything else. Not that I cared about his opinion anymore." Isabella smiled a bit, an expression of pride crossing her face.

Eliza said thoughtfully, she turned to Alice. "Did you happen to see when they might arrive?"

Alice shook her head. "Very soon, they're under orders to get here immediately. I can't see when exactly they arrive, which means they are avoiding specific travel plans, or they haven't been decided on yet, but I doubt they will allow us much time to get prepared, since their purpose is to kill you and Eliza first. Then they're to tasked kill the Quileute's and question the Cullen's and Denali. I heard Caius specifically request that Edward... and me... are to be brought back, and at least one or two of the wolves are to be kept alive for capture and study."

There were snarls all around from the pack at that, and Alice winced for not being more tactful in her dissemination of information. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

Jacob held a hand up to calm his pack. "It's okay, I know you don't want that to happen. Although I think it's safe to say we are not going to let that happen." There were nods of agreement all around the fire.

"Yeah. If we have anything to say about it, that is absolutely not going to happen." Eliza stated firmly. "This is where Aro's reach finally exceeds his grasp." She looked at Leah, an expression of protectiveness on her face. She shifted slightly to press closer to her, and Leah slipped her arm around Eliza's waist settled easily into the girl's embrace. Isabella raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She knew from the flood of emotions she'd felt earlier that they were officially a couple now. Apparently they had no qualms about public displays of affection either.

Jacob noticed their closeness and grinned at Eliza, who blushed slightly. He was very relieved that his discussion with Eliza earlier had apparently paid off in such a positive manner. He'd been very worried about how she would handle it since she left earlier that afternoon, even though he'd had other things worry about since Michele showed up unexpectedly. Mostly he had just prayed that Tekali didn't find out about the conversation before seeing the results. Even still it was very likely that Tekali wasn't going to be thrilled with him, but at least he could claim that it worked.

Jacob broke eye contact with Eliza, and turned towards Alice. "What about the 'recruits'? How many of those are they bringing?"

"It doesn't matter. They won't be the problem." Isabella cut him off dismissively. Jacob opened his mouth to argue but Jasper beat him to the punch.

"If they send enough of them, they could cause problems." Jasper said, agreeing with Jacob's unspoken counterargument. Isabella snorted. That caused most of those gathered to raise their eyebrows at her in disbelief. "What about strength in numbers?"

"They won't be a problem." Isabella re-iterated.

"Overconfidence can come back to haunt you." Jasper's tone was faintly disapproving at Isabella's cavalier attitude, although he was careful not to sound like his was the voice of dissent again.

"No, Mom's right. If she says that they won't be much of a problem, then they won't be much of a problem." Eliza stated in a voice that had a steel edge that was hard to argue with.

"I think she's proved that hasn't she?" Bree added, raising her chin in defensive pride of her mother.

"You, more than anyone know that the Volturi shouldn't be underestimated Assassin. You are a strong fighter, but it could come to nothing if they send the combined power of their guard after you. You could all be helpless before the twins." Mei said quietly and seriously.

Isabella glanced at her, and then at Jasper before nodding once. "I'm not underestimating them. I know what they are capable of, I'm estimating the strength of Eliza and I alone. With the rest of my Coven, along with the Quileute's and perhaps your help... this attack will prove to be nothing more than the second step on the path to their destruction. If Aro is foolish enough to send Alec and Jane after us, he _knows_ that he will lose them, since their powers have no effect on Eliza and I. They would die first before they caused pain to any of our family."

Mei looked at Isabella and Eliza with astonishment, though this time it was her partner Kira who spoke up, "You're immune to the witch twins?"

Isabella simply nodded at Kira, followed a moment later by a matching nod from Eliza.

"Oh, then yeah, I don't see the rest giving you a problem." Kira deadpanned, though her voice was slightly off by surprise.

Eliza grinned a little bit. "Yeah, like I said. They made the exact wrong enemies this time. They will fail."

"How can you be so sure?" Jacob asked plainly, though his tone had quite a bit more challenge in it than Jasper's or Mei's.

"Mom ought to know. She trained most of them." Eliza chuckled softly, "Or rather she spent countless hours beating them up."

Every eye in the circle turned to focus on her, and Isabella shrugged slightly. "I wasn't their official trainer, since no one liked my methods. I just spent so much of my time in the training facility that I fought against most of them. As my daughter might say, 'load of useless wankers the lot of them.' Most of them are between twenty-five and fifty years old, and none have any special abilities to speak of. There was always at least one, or a few, I sparred against, or perhaps most of them thought that no matter how often I wiped the floor with them, they were bad-ass world beaters that could actually best me if they put their minds to it. Fact is, even Bree could hold her own against a majority of them without formal training. Since she has intelligence, and an innate resilience that none of them possess."

Bree stared at her adoptive mother with such gratitude that it was hard for Isabella to bear it. Isabella turned to her and gave her a compassionate smile. _**"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true." **_The words sent through their connection were coupled with the sensation of a tight hug, that wrapped around Bree with a mother's love. Bree's face twisted with emotion, and she pressed herself against Eliza tightly because Isabella was too far away.

"There's something else too." Alice spoke up, with a thoughtful frown on her face. "Marcus seems to have disappeared."

Eliza and Isabella looked at each other in surprise. "He… what?"

"Aro was also raging that Marcus seems to have just vanished into the night. They've been looking for two days and haven't been able to find him. They're sending Demetri out to try and track him down. Demetri says Marcus is still alive because he can still feel him, and he's on the move. But they have no idea where or what he's up to. Caius is practically frothing at the mouth, and Aro's nearly as livid." Alice's expression was thoughtful as she spoke. "I've tried to see Marcus' future but I can't. It's like he's not making any decisions, and whoever he's with is just moving with him on a whim."

Isabella's brow was furrowed. "I know Marcus hasn't left the city in _ages_, and it's been centuries since he's done anything alone without being prodded into it. All of this stuff with Joham, and now the Volturi, and now… Marcus pulling a disappearing act? What the hell is going on?" True frustration leaked through Isabella's usually neutral mask, and her voice took on a touch of barely noticeable fear lost on everyone except for Eliza and Alice, and to a lesser extent Bree.

"Why is this Marcus such a big deal?" Leah asked as she gave Eliza a gentle squeeze.

Eliza looked just as puzzled as her mother felt. "Marcus is one of the trio of council members that are the head of the Volturi. He has the ability to identify relationships between people."

"That doesn't sound like a scary power for a group of powerful vampires." Jacob frowned a little bit, clearly not fathoming the implications of such a gift.

It was Jasper that spoke up in response, "That's because you're not thinking it through. Marcus doesn't just see romantic relationships, he sees all relationships. He sees the ties between family, friends, any sort of loyalty or devotion. He can tell if any given person would die for one another. Imagine that sort of advantage on the battlefield, or in viewing another coven. Knowing with one glance who to take out to make a whole alliance crumble."

Eliza piped up, "It doesn't sound all that scary, but it's something that Aro has used to great advantage. For example, if Marcus showed up here. He'd know that Jacob was Alpha of your pack, and he'd know that the best way to throw you all into disarray would be to eliminate him first." That seemed to shock the pack enough to make them all uneasy. Eliza noticed their discomfort but she continued. "What doesn't make sense though is him slipping out of his stupor enough to do anything. I am probably closer to him than anyone else in the coven, their coven... I hate when tenses change. Anyway, he has only ever opened up to me once and I sat with him for hours every day."

"So that's the zombie faced guy in the garden?" Bree asked looking for confirmation, the talk bringing to mind a memory she had seen in Eliza's mind.

"Yeah, that's him. I think he's the only person I'm actually gonna miss. It makes me kind of happy to know he's no longer there." Eliza said wistfully.

Isabella nodded in agreement, though she saw confused expressions around the fire. "Marcus was a kind man once, at least that's what I'm told. Until he lost his mate Didyme, who was also Aro's biological sister, after being slaughtered by a rival coven a long long time ago. He never recovered. The only thing that kept him from suicide was Chelsea making sure he felt tied to the Volturi. But… getting him to express interest in anything beyond his memories of her, has been impossible."

Eliza suddenly turned to Alice, "Wait, someone else is making decisions for him? Who is he with? Can you tell?"

Alice looked thoughtful, but shook her head. "I have a face, but not a name. I could draw her if you like?"

Eliza frowned, "Her? How are they acting towards one another?"

Alice unfocused her eyes and looked through her visions. It was impossible to gauge their future, but she could see their present. "Holding hands, Marcus is smiling I think."

"Holy shit." Eliza said in total shock. "You don't think?" She asked her mother in a short hand manner, though it was clear even to the people who weren't part their bond what Eliza was asking. Isabella looked at her daughter and shrugged, but Eliza's wide-eyed expression conveyed the gravity of the situation. The only person that could ever make Marcus smile was his mate, but… she was supposedly dead.

"You know that story better than I do, is it possible?" Isabella asked with genuine excitement. If she were alive, that would change everything. Marcus had wanted to leave the Volturi more than a millennia ago, and only stayed because Didyme had been killed. If this was all true, it threw a giant monkey wrench into all of the machinations of the Volturi.

"Didyme and Sulpicia and Athenodora were all captured, Didyme's life was threatened as leverage. Caius wouldn't give into their demands, even though Marcus and Aro wanted her back. She was killed, they stormed the camp and got Sulpicia and Athenodora back. Didyme's body was burn to ashes." Eliza explained quickly.

"That... sounds fishy. I never thought about it before, but what if Caius set up Didyme to die so that Marcus would stay?" Isabella offered with a bit of reluctance. It felt like she was reaching into the story and grasping for straws. .

"What if it was Aro, he would want to keep his sister alive, but conceal her or maybe imprison her?." Eliza countered.

"For nearly three thousand years? That seems unlikely." Isabella said, staring to pace.

"I don't know if this has anything to do with your suppositions Assassin. Our coven has held a prisoner for the Volturi for all the centuries I've been alive. Part of the debt you showed up to help fulfill. I don't know if it has anything to do with this development. I don't even know the identity of the prisoner, since I was never a guard or a warden. I couldn't even tell you if it was male or female. I assumed the captive perished in the assault on our coven. " Mei added with a slight smile.

Isabella turned that over in her head, her eyes narrowed in thought. "You were holding a prisoner for the Volturi? You didn't mention this before."

"We were never supposed to speak of it Assassin. A matter of honor for us. And in return the Volturi promised not to interfere on the entire island of Japan without direct invitation from us." Mei replied.

Eliza was grinning widely. "If that's the case Aro is probably going absolutely apeshit. He hates when he doesn't know what's going on, and if Marcus has been reunited with his long lost love... I can't imagine what will happen now."

Isabella managed a small smile and shook her head before she turned back and looked at Jacob and then at Quil. "Okay, back on topic for a bit. First things first. I was hoping to re-establish the alliance we formed, only this time we are a Coven that won't break our word. We may be new, but I pledge we will never betray you."

Colin's outraged expression said he was about to speak up, but Quil cut him off. "Don't even think about it Colin. Your continued behavior embarrasses us all. As much as I would like to believe Isabella, we have been burned once already. Do you truly represent all of your people?"

Colin was still sputtering when Isabella turned to her coven with the same question, although hers remained unspoken.

Alice, Eliza, Bree, Rosalie, and Emmett stood nearly in unison. Jasper and Adara followed a split second later. Together they all nodded, each with a slightly different expression. Alice was smiling ear to ear, clearly proud of Isabella. Eliza and Bree looked determined as they clasped hands with their respective mates. Seth's face was a bright red at how firmly Bree seemed to latch onto him, but his grin was even wider. Rosalie gave Isabella a look of confidence and a smile of friendship that was indicative of her continued shows of loyalty. Emmett just grinned widely, and the old friendly fire he used to have came back into his eyes. Jasper nodded solemnly, and Adara did as well although she seemed far more happy about the arrangement.

Isabella nodded to them all, and turned towards Quil. "We stand united. I do need you to understand fully though, the Swan Coven has declared outright war on the Volturi. They will be coming after us. That could put you and your families at risk. You will have to be on guard. They won't hesitate to slaughter anyone. Caius in particular has enjoyed ordering the destruction of entire towns in the past. If that weren't enough, we have Joham and whatever games he's playing, eliminating entire covens. Although his death is long overdue, he does represent a significant looming threat that you may not be subject to."

"You just make all sorts of friends, don't you?" Jacob asked, looking at Isabella, though the teasing tone in his voice took most of the sting out of his teasing.

"Gives me something to fill my spare time." Isabella shrugged lithely before turning her attention back to Quil.

Quil regarded Isabella thoughtfully a moment. "You defied your coven, and risked forfeiting your life to honor your agreement with our pack. I would say you've earned our trust. We agree to the alliance. Especially given the most recent development. It's not like we could just protect Eliza and Bree only, because of their respective imprints, and their connection to the rest of your coven, you are by our laws a part of our community." His gaze drifted to Seth for a moment. Seth blushed and glanced at Bree involuntarily. There were nods of agreement from everyone but Colin who sat there sullenly.

Isabella smiled and nodded slightly. "Thank you."

Quil stood up and reached forward to shake Isabella's hand. Not flinching from the coolness of her skin, while she was careful not to crush his fragile hand.

After they had shaken hands, cementing the Alliance, Quil spoke up, "You've had a long day, and it's getting late. I assume anything you need you can talk to Jacob about, but my wife warned me if I was out too late I'd be sleeping on the couch." Taking their cue from him, the council members all stood up along with several pack members to head back to their vehicles.

Jacob looked at Isabella and then looked at the house curiously. "What will you do now?"

Isabella looked at the house and sighed, "First, we're going to have a family meeting to iron out some details. Then we'll have a more firm plan in place for tomorrow. I'll let you know?" She glanced around at the vampires that were gathered around. Jacob hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.

"There's someone I want you to met when you get a chance." He said with a bit of hesitation.

"Would you come to our house when you've finished your meeting?" Tekali added, linking her arm through Jacob's. Her expression was full of pride.

"Sure, just me?" Isabella asked groping for an appropriate response.

"All of you might be a bit much, but you immediate family are welcome." Tekali answered, glancing specifically at Alice to make sure the invitation extended to her. The look wasn't lost on Isabella.

"So is it a surprise?" Eliza asked with a grin.

"No, not a surprise. Just a little unexpected." Jacob looked down in embarrassment. Tekali frowned slightly at him, and took picked up where he left off.

"We'd like to introduce you to our daughter, Michele." Tekali gave them all a proud smile, and turned Jacob towards their truck. The entire coven stood in mild shock, as they watched the couple go. Tekali turned back towards Isabella, "See you soon." Before they climbed in the four by four and drove off.

"Did you know?" Eliza asked her mother.

"Not a fucking clue." Isabella said with astonishment.

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**Author's notes: WHOOO! LONG CHAPTER O_O Fun chapter :D **

**1) Another start to the chapter where you were probably like WTF! I know, but bear with us :D it totes plays into the story. All part of Samantha Minuet's FANTASTIC writing.**

**2) Yes, I introduced not one but two new OC's in this chapter. I'm sorry if you're unhappy with that. But i did say this was going to be global. If we messed up the japanese phrases we were going for, I apologize. Oyabun means "Family Boss" or leadership, and Kyodai mean "Big Brother" in this case enforcer. Yes we heavily implied that their coven was the organizational head of the yakuza. I do apologize if we butchered the culture or anything. **

**But I really wanted characters outside what we've seen in the twilight universe. and i wanted to introduce other shifters. So... yay we have one! :D I hope you really like them. They bring some differences. **

**3) For those who are curious, Mei has a visual reference, in a link that is in my profile! A fantastic piece of art by Dan Dos Santos. **

**I stumbled across the picture online, and then emailed the artist and asked if he minded if i used it for a visual reference for this story. He graciously gave his permission for me to use it! So he has my thanks. **

**Yes Mei totally uses bladed weapons. and there IS a reason for it that we will get into. :P **

**4) Also... Didyme?! Is it possible she's still alive? O_O SURPRISE! BWAHAHA. We'll see what role Marcus has to play in this going forward. If you're curious, Marcus had a slightly expanded role in the first chapter that was edited and put up last week, so check it out. it's pretty cool **

**5) A thank you goes out to MexG2, who went back and gave us a review for every chapter! We REALLY appreciated it! Helping us reach our super lofty goals of 5 k reviews! ^_^ **

**6) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: I promise you guys won't be in the dark for long, Oliver and Emma's story will make sense very soon. Mei is totally Kathryn's creation, I kind of love her. What do you guys think? We got a bit too ambitious, or at least I did. So revisions on the beginning chapters are going to be coming out a bit slower than I hoped they would. I hope you all liked this one, and I can't wait to read your reactions.**

**7) Those of you shrieking for my head because you want to see some Bellice. SOOOOOOOON. But I hope you can see little ways their relationship is starting to develop. Even if there's no dedicated scene time for them this chapter. **

**8) Please Read and Review!**

**Next up - First Coven Meeting!**


	41. Revelations

**~ Chapter 41 ~**

**Lately I've been skeptical**

**Silent when I would used to speak**

**Distant from all around me**

**Who witness me fail and become weak**

**Life is overwhelming**

**Heavy is the head that wears the crown**

**I'd love to be the one to disappoint you when I don't fall down**

**But you don't understand when I'm attempting to explain**

**Because you know it all and I guess things will never change**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

"So… Mei's partner is "Kira". It must be killing you to not mention the connection." Alice said playfully to Eliza as they walked back towards their places around the fire pit.

"I tried that crack once, she's not a Trek fan, and neither is Mei so they didn't understand a single thing I was talking about. Besides, isn't DS9 your schtick?" Eliza kept the smile from crossing her face, but she was clearly amused.

"I was just partial to Sisko. He was by far the best lead in any of the Trek series'. You see, not being able to sleep does have some advantages, like being able to binge watch a show on disc. Still I'm not really that much of a sci-fi nut." Alice replied casually.

Eliza pursed her lips in mild irritation, and narrowed her eyes to regard Alice with a bit of an incredulous glare.

Alice took in her expression after a moment and panicked. She had been talking casually in the hopes of building a connection with Eliza and inadvertently put her foot in her mouth. Her voice went up an octave, as she started to explain rapidly. "I didn't mean to insult you! I like nuts, especially since, if you want to get technical about it, I am one."

Alice saw Eliza's raised eyebrow at that, so she continued. "When I was still human, at some point I was actually committed to an asylum... not that I remember that far back. Your mom actually managed to help me find out about my past. I'm sorry I didn't mean insinuate you were like me or anything, or... I mean I didn't mean to... hmph... sorry." Alice stumbled over her apology.

Eliza had to stifle a giggle. It was so endearing, and it was clear that Alice was attempting to build a foundation for a relationship with her. Eliza paused in mid-stride, stopped Alice in place, and forced her to face her. "I wasn't upset about the nut comment. I will totally cop to being a geek. I was irritated that you said he was by far the best lead. I mean… the only one in my opinion that was worse was Janeway. Talk about a captain that shoulda been tossed out of an airlock. Picard was far and away the best Captain."

Alice blinked at that and then couldn't help a giggle that escaped her, "An excellent actor, but a French Captain with an British accent who never gave me the impression of being very strong. Sure he was a great diplomat and politician, but Sisko had those skills, and could punch a Klingon in the face and actually knock him out."

Eliza sighed in mock exasperation and shook her head slightly. "Heathen. However... one nut to another... was the Q episode totally superfluous?" Eliza asked with just as serious a tone of voice as Alice had.

"Ugh. Q. Omnipotent being. Omnipotent being short hand for arrogant, pretentious, and a total asshole. At least the actor got the role nailed down to a perfect science. Actually come to think of it, I saw him in something else, and he played basically the exact same character. I wonder if he really was a pretentious self-important jerk." Alice shuddered a little bit in revulsion and shook her head.

"Totes." Eliza agreed as they sat down. Eliza was sitting for less than a second before she started to look around. Leah and Seth were already climbing into one of the cars with the rest of the Quileutes that were set to leave. She frowned, and immediately stood back up, blurring over to them before they had a chance to close their doors.

Upon reaching the vehicle, Eliza reached out and grabbed Leah's hand as she reached out to close the door of the truck. Leah looked up startled, but smiled as Eliza started to pull her back out with a gentle but insistent tug.

Leah tilted her head curiously once her feet were on the ground, and idly reached up to brush a bit of Eliza's hair out of her face. "What's the matter? I figured we'd meet at Jacob's after you had your coven meeting."

Eliza looked uncertain for a moment, shooting a glance back at the fire where the rest of the vampires were gathering. Her eyes went to her mother, and saw the way she had her fingers intertwined with Alice's. She squared her shoulders and looked back at Leah. Her voice was clear and firm, almost stubbornly making a point, well aware that what she said could be heard by anyone and everyone. "This directly affects you. You're… my _girlfriend!_ My life affects yours, so you should be a part of this too." Eliza looked down and her voice dropped a little bit. "I want you to be in my entire life. Not just a part of it."

Leah's eyes were wide at the blunt admission, and the grin that broke across her face was huge. She hesitated a few moments as she tried to think of a sufficient response. When none came to mind, she reached out, gripped the front of Eliza's borrowed shirt and jerked her forward to kiss her firmly, almost roughly.

Eliza let out a soft "mmph" of surprise and then melted into her girlfriend's passionate embrace, heedless of several catcalls from shifters and two loud whistles, one of which she was sure came from Emmett.

Isabella hesitated for several moments, first at Eliza's announcement, and then the rather exuberant follow up display. However, she wasn't particularly surprised. Her mouth quirked up slightly in a miniscule smile at the public display of affection, before she nodded slightly.

She sensed embarrassment from the bond, and she turned to look at Bree who was shifting slightly in her seat on the longest log bench, trying to look anywhere but at the couple. Isabella mentally sighed, reminding herself that she needed to teach Bree how to block emotions and physical sensations, and soon. She eyed her squirming daughter for several seconds before lifting her voice to call out with a sigh. "Seth, I know you can hear me. You might as well join us too, since it's probably easier than Bree relating the entire meeting to you word for word."

Isabella could tell from the immediate smile on Bree's face, and the relief flowing through the connection, that Bree would probably have asked for him to stay too, but couldn't quite work up the nerve. It was something that Isabella found to be both mildly disappointing, that she didn't have the courage to pursue her own desires yet, and extremely endearing.

Bree's innate sweetness, and the blunt but innocent way she reacted to most things, was simply delightful. It meant that she wasn't nearly as damaged as she should've been, or that by giving her a family that would love and protect her made all the difference in the world. Eliza may have made the decision to save her and bring her into the bond, but it made Isabella's decision to bring Bree into her heart worth it in every way possible.

Most of the Cullen's displayed at least a touch of surprise at the mention of Seth, except for Rosalie, but none of them said anything. Seth glanced away from Leah to look at Isabella in surprise. Though his eyes only remained on her for a second before being drawn to Bree as if my a magnet and he blushed, but he did step away from the truck. He moved back close to the bonfire, the intensity of which was slowly dwindling, taking an empty seat next to Bree.

He felt self-conscious for a few moments, feeling so many eyes on him, but a quick glance around told him most of the eyes had been drawn back to where his sister was busy trying to devour Eliza's face. He looked at Bree for several moments, his eyes drifting down to her hands which were twisting slightly in her lap. He was unsure if it was the right moment for that kind of contact, but after a couple of seconds his question was answered when Bree slid her own hand into his, interlacing her fingers with his, and squeezing gently. She seemed to stiffen a little as she did this especially so publically, and he had to stifle his own reaction of excitement.

The movement wasn't lost on Isabella, who smiled at her daughter's resolve. She berated herself for judging Bree too quickly, and made a mental note to not underestimate her in the future. Then in an effort to get bring her other daughter's attention back to the present, Isabella lifted her voice again slightly, "Eliza…"

"Oh don't stop them on _our _account, I never object to a show." Kira interjected her voice coming out in a suggestive purr. She had forgone sitting in an offered seat, and instead seemed more comfortable half draped over the back of Mei's shoulders, arms loosely encircling her neck. She let her eyes roam over the two kissing women, and murmured "Sekushi." in Mei's ear, quietly, but still loud enough for those sitting around the fire to hear, even if they couldn't understand.

By contrast Mei was sitting rigidly with her back straight as she observed the area. She seemed to have no objection to Kira's position, nor did her face betray any surprise to either the position Kira took, nor the comment she made. She observed the two impassively, eyes only lingering a moment as she seemed to give everyone else present the once over.

Isabella finally got impatient enough, and her amused voice floated through to Eliza's unfocused mind. _**"Ahem... Would it be possible for you two to examine each other's tonsils later? I would kind of like to get on with this meeting."**_

That seemed to be enough of an impetus to cause Eliza to pull back, she looked around the group with an embarrassed smile, though as they made their way over to the fire pit that she was pressed against Leah's side. It was her way of making it clear that she had no intention of hiding or being embarrassed about her connection to Leah. Her gaze met her mother's for a moment, almost challenging her to say something about such a brazen public display of affection, and then her gaze faltered slightly when she saw the small smile curve the corner of Isabella's lips.

She smiled shyly as the two of them settled onto one of the logs around the fire. "Sorry about that. Got a little carried away."

The group gathered on one side of the fire for the most part, mostly keeping to the same spaces they had been when the Quileutes had been there. Isabella made a motion to spread out, to give everyone some space. So they did, albeit a bit reluctantly. Once everyone was settled in their new places, all eyes turned towards Isabella, waiting for her to make the first move.

Isabella cleared her throat, more from the need to signify a starting place than any actual physical need, "Okay, I don't really know how a full coven meeting is supposed to go. It's not really something the Volturi ever did. So pardon me if there's some sort of parliamentary procedure or protocol I'm missing, although I honestly don't care about shit like that. I... think I'm going to start by asking a question, which I'll direct at the former members of the Olympic Coven. I'm not going to ask this delicately, because honestly, I have no idea how."

Isabella paused a moment to look around. "Have you all lost your fucking minds?"

That seemed to startle all of the Cullen's present except for Alice, while Isabella continued, her voice seemed to be filled with one part anger and one part genuine befuddlement. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I have to confess to being confused. All those years ago, you all left without looking back, happily putting me in the rearview mirror. Without even a freaking goodbye. No phone call, no note, no nothing."

"Fast forward ninety years… and all of a sudden you're willing to break away from Carlisle and Esme in order to follow me, while I publically challenge the most powerful coven in the world? It doesn't make sense, no matter what Edward has done. Alice and I have talked, and I understand her motivation. The rest of you though? I'm not trying to sound… unwelcoming or anything, it's just more than a bit... unexpected and confusing. Can someone please clue me in?" Isabella looked around at the gathered vampires, eyes running over every former member of the Cullens one by one.

There was silence for several seconds. Most of the vampires looked somber, though Mei and Kira looked around curiously, and Adara's expression was a combination of sympathy and shared puzzlement.

It was Rosalie who stood up and took a couple of steps forward, she seemed to gather herself, staring into the fire for several long moments before lifting her head and her amber eyes met Isabella's crimson orbs unflinchingly "You're absolutely right. We screwed up royally. I won't try and deny it. I won't try and make any excuses about being manipulated and outright lied to, even though we were betrayed in the same way you were. Which is something that I can tell you, I will never forgive, or forget. However, we did leave, and we left of our own volition. I can only speak for me and Emmett for sure, but I can say this, we're sorry Isabella. We were wrong."

That rocked Isabella back on her heels slightly though Rosalie wasn't finished. For once Rosalie seemed to be flustered, but she didn't drop her eyes from Isabella's for a moment; intent on facing the issue head on. "Leaving you like we did was stupid, we brought you into this life. Edward might have started it, but we all accepted you. Even if we didn't always have the best way of showing it."

Rosalie looked abashed for a moment and then looked down at the ground for a moment before murmuring, "Okay, even if _**I**_ didn't have the best way of showing it. You became part of our family. We all knew it too, except him. Whether you knew it or not, you changed us, brought fresh air to a life that had become stagnant and stale. Something in our family broke when we left you, and we've been going through the motions of a family ever since. We pretended everything was okay, wallpapering over cracks as they appeared. Every one of us missed you, Esme and Alice in particular were practically inconsolable for months."

Rosalie's voice turned thoughtful for a moment as her face became contemplative, "I wonder if that bothered him all the time. Being able to read our thoughts and knowing that everyone was more concerned about you, than we were about him and his, _pain_."

Rosalie snorted a little bit in amusement before meeting Isabella's eyes again. "We were going through the motions and none of us were whole, much less happy. That's why when we understood the extent of Edward's absolutely heinous betrayal, it was the final straw, for me at least. I feel bad for Carlisle and Esme but they aren't helpless, and they will survive us leaving. They just have to figure out whether they can continue pretending that the perfect Edward was ever real. You know it's funny. I haven't been able to speak civilly to Edward for decades, and today I finally figured out why. I freely admit that I never wanted you, but you added something fundamental to our lives, like you made us a more complete as a family. After you were gone, it was like something was amputated, and we never even saw the cut."

Rosalie continued to meet Isabella's penetrating gaze, "I guess it's no secret that I didn't help back then, and I won't lie and say you were my favorite person. I always detested how you seemed to have no backbone, giving in to anything and everything Edward wanted. I wanted you to have a family, and not take the seemingly easy path because it seemed more attractive at the time. I wanted you to have the choice to be a mother; in part because I never could be. I know that's selfish, but I couldn't help it. That's why I pushed you away. Now, you are so strong, and your daughters are both wonderful. You are the mother... perhaps the person I always thought you could be. I wish we had been there to help you, because you clearly went through something dark and it changed you in some way. I don't know how to say this without being condescending, but I'm so proud of you. Of the woman you've become. Even without help, you were able to work past that darkness enough to raise Eliza here, who has turned out to be a smart and capable woman."

Isabella was absolutely stunned speechless. Her mouth was left hanging open slightly as she stared at Rosalie.

Eliza blinked at Rosalie in astonishment, _**"I... did she compliment me?" **_

_**"I told you she's been really cool to me." **_Bree said defensively.

Rosalie glanced at Eliza and gave her a warm smile, and then her eyes crossed over Bree and beamed an even larger amount of affection. "For me, joining this Coven is finally acknowledging that you are family. More than that… despite our disagreements, one thing I could always trust in was that you were always honest. Something I sure as hell can't say about Edward. I think, If we had stayed, there probably would have been an attempt to pretend nothing had changed, even if only Alice had walked away. Edward would have tried to spin the whole thing to make himself look good. He would have tried to get us all to move past it, and convince us that we were 'better off'. The sad part is, I can't say that Esme and Carlisle wouldn't have gone along with it. Esme loves having a family more than anything else. I could see her trying to maintain that fiction even in her own mind."

"I'm not willing to do that, I can't just pretend everything is okay… that Edward is the same man I once thought he was. He's been lying about his true nature for two hundred years, that's... that's beyond betrayal. I know I can trust you, and Eliza, and I can't deny that I've grown very fond of Bree. So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm proud to be a part of this coven, in ways I could never have been before. Carlisle saved me, and I always felt an obligation of love and familial connection to stay with him. Yet for the first time in my immortal life, I feel free, like I truly belong."

After Rosalie's speech all eyes seemed to shift as one to look at Isabella, who seemed frozen in surprise.

_**"I think she broke Mom." **_ Bree said to Eliza through their connection, after the moments of silence stretched out.

_**"I don't know. Why don't you try poking her with a stick? That might work." **_Eliza shot back, though her eyes were also on her mother, although she was suppressing her growing worry from transmitting through their connection.

_**"You first."**_ Bree shot back.

Isabella stared at Rosalie for several silent seconds that stretched out past a minute, as everyone took in what she had said. Rosalie met Isabella's stare with her shoulders squared, and her head held high, as if she was daring someone to question her declarations. Isabella gave her a small smile, and nodded once at her. Isabella wasn't sure she could quite believe what she had just heard, because it cut into some deeply held beliefs. If Rosalie was telling the truth, and it appeared that she was, they hadn't thought of her as a pet and leaving her was not as easy as she imagined.

She blinked as a thought occurred to her. Rosalie had never lied to her. She had never tried to pretend she liked her or tried to be gentle or friendly. She made her dislike known rather pointedly on many occasions. But a part of Isabella had always respected that. She wouldn't pretend to be your friend, and then try and put a knife in your back. No, if Rosalie was going to try and hurt Isabella she'd do it from the front. Was it really all Edward's manipulation? They had still chosen to leave, so they were still to blame for what happened.

_**"Maybe their choice wasn't that simple mom. I've hated them for what they did to you too... but they're here. They chose to follow you, knowing the danger, even after everything that's happened."**_ Eliza said to her mother.

Isabella immediately tried to shut off her side of the connection. She hadn't realized that she had been broadcasting her confusion and conflict. She was struggling to keep up her impassive façade, especially confronting this maelstrom of emotions. She didn't want this coven meeting to be highlighted by her breaking down publically, so she ruthlessly quashed the conflict inside her, even though a part of her suddenly felt like it had been rubbed raw.

Isabella clenched her jaw and turned her attention from Rosalie to Emmett, who merely cocked his head toward Rosalie to make it clear that she spoke for them both. Isabella's eyes moved on to fix on Jasper and Adara. "What about you two? Adara doesn't even know me."

"For me, this is a fresh start. I've been an outsider for half a century, and that's a really hard place to be despite the support I get from my mate. I love Jasper, but I'm not willing to stay in the shadows anymore. Being the 'new girl' can get really old. This is an opportunity for me, to finally be me without feeling like I'm forcing my way into coven that's already been established for like a century and a half.." Adara said with clear honesty.

Jasper took a couple of deep and troubled breaths as he realized something he hadn't recognized before. Adara was sitting straighter, her eyes were wider, her expression more open. Her body language was clear, and the emotions flowing from her just confirmed everything that the rest of his senses were telling him. She was happy, worried, and scared about the future, but happy.

When Jasper spoke, it was calm and contemplative. "When I found out about the mass exodus to your Coven I confess that I was more than a little bit incensed. Then I heard what Edward was encouraging the Volturi to do, and it made me realize I couldn't stay either. Even if I wasn't doing what I feel is right, I couldn't stay. Even if the rest of the family was staying, I would've had to go in the end, because after what I heard, all my worst fears about Edward were confirmed. If I stayed I wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation to attack him sooner or later, and that would've destroyed Esme even more. She needs time to accept what he is, and then maybe she will understand why he needs to be...

He shook his head a little bit, "No, it isn't my place I don't think. Although he betrayed all of us, it was you and Alice that were wronged the most. Leaving is hard, because Carlisle and Esme are family. But maybe it's a testament to how most of us have lived for years. This just makes the decision easier, we may not be blood relations or anything, but I love my siblings. I'm not going to abandon them now. Also I think Adara's right. This is a fresh start for all of us. More than that, I agree with Rosalie. I didn't like being around you as a human, but not because I didn't like you. I think you'll recall that it was really hard for me to be around any humans because I was always fighting the temptations of blood, and I was still learning to control my thirst. Still I grew very fond of you in the short time we had to interact, and I hated how we left you behind. I even brought up the dangers that Victoria might've presented, but Edward brushed off my concerns, saying you'd be-" He cut off his words suddenly as he sensed a sudden burst of pure rage from Isabella. A question finally answered in his mind, Victoria did have a part in the person standing before him. How big a part was something he needed to figure out, although the time was hardly right for those kinds of questions.

"I... that... no." Isabella looked at Jasper fiercely, a creeping feeling of overwhelming emotions clouding her ability to think straight. Isabella had tensed up and her fists had clenched tightly, and once more the shadows began to lengthen and the world darken, the rage building at the mere mention of Victoria, until suddenly she felt Alice's fingers reach out to brush the back of her hand. The effect on her emotions was instantaneous, and the shadows immediately vanished as most of the tension disappeared.

_**"Mom, it's okay. He was just making a point, He doesn't know any better." **_Eliza's voice whipped in her mother's mind almost immediately, knowing what the problem was. Then she noticed Alice touching her mother, and realized that maybe she no longer needed to be Isabella's sole pillar of emotional support.

It felt almost like something was lifted from her shoulders, not like she was shedding a burden, but more like someone was helping to carry that weight finally. Bree had helped a little, but she wasn't there emotionally like Alice obviously was. Isabella had someone to lean on that wasn't someone that she needed to protect as well, at least not like a child. It was a bit of a bittersweet revelation, but she would always be there for her no matter how big the circle of people who came to help support her grew. She would always be a central part of Isabella's life, just not the only part of her life anymore.

Deep inside that felt a little strange, and a selfish need cropped up for a brief moment. It took a minute to realize that a part of her didn't really want to share. However, she had Leah now, and Bree was very important in both of their lives. Her mother deserved love, and Eliza wasn't going to stop her from having that, especially now that she understood it.

"Isabella. I know this all probably sounds strange, maybe unreal, and you're right, I don't know you. About the only thing I do know about you now, is that I get the distinct impression things are never boring around you. Yet I heard your human story. Even though no one wanted to tell it. I gathered pieces of it for decades, from short exchanges and hushed conversations. Dancing around Edward's edict that you were a taboo topic. I even stared at your portrait trying to figure out who you were, and why you left such an impression on the family. To see you now, I think I understand." Adara gave her a very warm smile.

Isabella stared at her, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Isabella, it's okay. I couldn't explain before, how we all cared. I knew you had to hear it from the rest of the family." Alice said softly, as she stood and walked around to look up into Isabella's eyes.

Isabella looked at Alice, and then to everyone else. Her jaw clenching and unclenching in anger and confusion. She hated being this openly conflicted. "I... think... I guess… that why you left isn't... important right now." Isabella shook her head a few times, and reopened her connection to Eliza as she closed her eyes in frustration. With a ruthlessness that was almost reptilian she boxed her emotion away as she tried to regain her usual iron focus. She wasn't going to just ignore those new conflicts to her already sorted past, and pretend that they didn't exist, but she couldn't sort through them when she had to be in the here and now. She couldn't untangle her emotional turmoil in front of so many people. She couldn't stand for everyone to suddenly see her as weak and helpless, as she'd once been.

"Look, I can't say I'm thrilled about this situation. Wait… that came out wrong. I mean, it's just surprising, I wasn't even remotely prepared for this, so… I guess… for now I'm going to lay down some very simple ground rules, unless anyone objects." She opened her eyes to look around, but no one was speaking up to question her. This gave her just the right amount of strength to keep going, even though something deep inside was threatening to tear apart her concentration, as surging emotions, not so easily quelled fought against her self control.

"First, and this is especially true right now. No one goes off on their own without telling the others where they are going." Everyone nodded once in agreement, not that Isabella acknowledged them. She was too intent on getting out her thoughts.

"On second thought, until things settle down, I would prefer it if no one went anywhere without someone else; that includes hunting. I may be paranoid, but with the Volturi wanting us dead, whatever Joham's up too, not to mention Edward. I would be more comfortable if everyone has at least one person to watch their back. Groups of two I think should be mandatory, although I think at least three is better." She glanced around hoping that no one would be upset by the idea, but before she could continue Eliza interrupted.

"Mom! That's not fair!" Eliza's immediate protest sounded almost petulant. At the same time Bree let out a little huff of disgruntled frustration too.

Isabella rolled her eyes and held up her hand to cut off the objections, "I don't care if you're paired off with a significant other, as long as there are at least two of you. This is not some attempt to force you guys to have chaperones." Isabella smirked, but at the same time she wasn't entirely thrilled at the idea that her daughter's only protection might be someone that could steal all their attention. Thankfully her comment seemed to quell things rather quickly.

"Third, right now there are exactly four people whose skills I know well enough to trust in a combat situation. Myself and Eliza, Mei and Kira." At that, both Jasper and Emmett began to speak up in protest, but Isabella raised her voice and cut them both off.

"I'm not disparaging whatever skills you may have. I haven't seen any of the rest of you fight as vampires. I don't know how extensive, or solid your ability not only to engage an opponent, but be aware of your surroundings and adjust to unexpected circumstances. I'm more than happy to let any of you spar with me so I can figure out how competent you are. However, until I'm satisfied that there is a specific level of ability, I don't want any of you in the upcoming battle. I know what the minimum level the Volturi guard are trained to, if any of you want to be in that fight you need to be able to exceed that... otherwise you'll be nothing more than a speed bump to them. Since Bree is... rather adamant that she be a part of this, we're going to start training her shortly, and any or all of you are welcome to join us." Isabella looked around, clearly inviting any questions.

"I know how to fight, but after watching the two of you last week, I know I'm out classed in that department. I think I'd like to join Bree in training." Rosalie interjected thoughtfully, her eyes on Bree. She didn't want Bree being the only one learning, and had at least a little concern about how hard Isabella might push the girl.

Isabella nodded her assent, and then paused to make sure she had dealt with all objections before continuing. "Fourth, because of the nature of combat, should we find ourselves in that kind of a situation of any sort. I would ask that you to not question any instructions I give, or anything that Eliza tells you to do. If we order you to run, you should run. If we tell you to stay put, you should stay put. If Eliza tells you to start humming the Battle Hymn of the Republic, you don't waste time asking her what key she'd like it in. You can exact revenge afterward if she's being silly."

Eliza whistled innocently at that. Which drew Isabella's attention for a moment before she continued. She should've found that funny, in fact most of the rest of the coven smiled at her. Yet Isabella couldn't, she was too intent, to focused on the task at hand. Her emotional control was hovering at the red line, and all she wanted to do was finish this and get away long enough to center herself.

"Fifth, the Quileutes are family. Leah and Seth especially… but also Jacob and Tekali and the rest of their pack. We are in an alliance with them, and they are welcome in my home, our home. Whenever we actually get another one set up that is. I don't care what the status of relationships are. I don't care if you think someone smells. You want to joke around and tease, fine; as long as they're okay with it. You make any of them feel genuinely unwelcome and you'll answer to me." Isabella's expression was serious and didn't invite protests. Although she did seem to be rushing, her words growing ever so slightly closer together. Eliza frowned slightly at her mother but remained silent.

"Sixth and final. We've been a coven less than 24 hours, and there are almost 10 of us. Tensions are bound to occur. If you have a problem with someone, no matter who it is, you don't bury it and pretend everything is okay. You bring it up and address it. Even if it's with me. We'll do our best to resolve it. I will not allow backstabbing, or any sort of political bullshit." Her voice came out in a growl as she looked around, almost daring anyone to stand up and challenge her. Her exasperation with the situation showing more than a little bit, and Eliza tilted her head at her mother in concern.

Then Alice was next to her again, wrapping her fingers through hers, and a sudden rush of calm centered her almost completely. Isabella couldn't help but sigh slightly in contentment, she wasn't sure she would ever get used to that, not that she wanted to.

Her voice cleared up, and she looked around the group for the first time. "Those... rules, are non-negotiable for now. I don't know when things will ever calm down, but if they do we can figure out if these make sense then. I imagine other rules will come up in the future, but these are probably a solid place to start. Most anything else we do can be discussed. Is that understood?" She emphasized her question by meeting the eyes of everyone there getting a nod of agreement before moving on.

"Any questions?" She finally asked, squeezing Alice's hand slightly in silent appreciation.

"Where do Kira and I fit in?" Mei asked thoughtfully. "We aren't a part of your coven."

"Honestly, you're welcome to stay as long as you want, and I if things develop to the point where you want to join us we can figure it out then. I seem to have an aura that attracts people, maybe it's my bubbly personality. Until then, you are an ally. You will be welcome in our home... " Isabella trailed off, clearly leaving the floor open for anyone else to start talking.

It was Rosalie that jumped in first. "We need to get ourselves a house. As much… fun… as roughing it might be. I have to admit I'm partial to warm showers and clean rooms."

"Which leads us to a bigger problem, money to pay for that. Since Aro knows we survived, I have no doubt that one of his first actions was to cut us off from any and all account access to the Volturi trust." Isabella said.

Emmett burst out laughing at that, and there was smiles from most of the Cullen's. Alice was the one that spoke up, giving Isabella's hand a gentle squeeze, amusement on her face. "Money is not a problem at all. We've got plenty of it to suffice."

"If by plenty, you mean assets that rival the GDP of some large countries, then sure… plenty." Adara snorted and shook her head.

Isabella raised her eyebrow and couldn't stop the small smile that crossed her face. "That's good, because all we have is the clothes on our backs and even those are borrowed."

Adara nodded. "Also, although though none of us have Esme's artistic flair when it comes to architecture, between Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and myself we know enough about building to construct a house that would be more than adequate. Hell we can do it faster and better than any contractor you could hire."

"Not to mention the fact that they will just use insulation in the walls instead of high explosives. That gives them a leg up right there." Eliza deadpanned. Everyone laughed, even Isabella chuckled a little.

Alice's surprised everyone by clapping in a slightly over done and childish exclamation of excitement. "Major shopping trip! We'll need paint, and furniture, and appliances and new vehicles! And… oh... my... god…! We all need entire new wardrobes!"

Isabella ran a hand over her face and through her hair and sighed in exasperation.

Eliza laughed and took pity on her Mother, "Don't worry Mom. I know your size, and we know you want all black. You don't have to go shopping."

"Oh not even!" Alice's voice cut off Eliza. Alice pointed a finger seriously at Isabella. "I'm not going to let you off the hook that easily. Sticking with basic black? Absolutely wasting the possibilities of such gorgeous hair and perfect skin? Not on my watch."

Eliza laughed a little and shook her head, "It's no use Alice. Mom doesn't do clothes shopping. No force on Earth can compel her to go."

Alice frowned over at Eliza and then lifted her chin slightly, the words coming almost as a challenge to her. She turned towards Isabella in a deliberate manner and looked up into her eyes, "Please will you go clothes shopping with me? I really want you to come and… it would mean a lot to me if spent the time together... and got you outfitted for a new wardrobe in the process." Her smile was perfect, and impossible to resist.

Isabella looked down into Alice's eyes. To anyone watching it seemed like Alice was being playful, and teasing in a totally unsubtle attempt to get Bella to go shopping with her. That's what Isabella thought at first, but when she looked into Alice's eyes, the teasing sarcastic reply she formulated died on her lips. In Alice's eyes there was something other than playfulness. There was uncertainty… and hope... and concern.

It took Isabella a minute to understand that Alice was uncertain, that she didn't know if Isabella would want to go with her, especially since it wasn't something she'd ever really enjoyed doing. The hope was clearly that she would consent to go. She knew the concern was over her strange behavior, that no one except Eliza had picked up on. Although looking around both Rosalie and Bree looked at her with a touch of worry as well.

After a few moments Isabella groaned and put her head in her hands theatrically.

Eliza blinked several times at how her mom folded and then a wide grin crossed her face. "This is going to be the greatest shopping trip ever. Of all time!"

Isabella's groaned in mock pain again, which had everyone laughing. Even Eliza who sighed in relief. Isabella looked at Alice, who smiled at her, but wasn't entirely fooled. Her open expression was no longer full of uncertainty and unfulfilled hope, but her worry was still there.

Isabella looked at the group, and for the first time noticed that they didn't seem to pity or fear her. It made her wonder what had changed."One thing's for sure, I'm not wearing a dress." Isabella said in an attempt to keep the jovial mood from fading.

"One step at a time, but I bet I'll get you in a dress eventually." Alice said with a smile, although her expression shifted from happy to embarrassed for a fraction of a second. The shift was lost on Isabella, but Rosalie caught it and gave them both a happy smile.

"Clothes aren't the only things we need though. A house has literally a ton of necessities, and even more luxuries." Emmett added trying to be helpful.

"There is something not shopping related that has been bothering me If you don't mind the shift in conversation." Jasper spoke up, effectively cutting the discussion short.

"And that is?" Isabella asked dubiously, since Jasper was giving her a strange and slightly antagonistic look.

"Honestly? Your feeding habits. I cannot in good conscience go any longer without mentioning that killing innocents for blood goes against everything we believe in. Now I would never force our diet on anyone, but given our connection to you... I feel it's something we need to address now before everything else is settled."

"We don't kill if we can help it." Eliza spoke up in defense of their feeding habits.

"Your eyes would contradict that." Jasper said with a nod towards Isabella, and a less certain one toward Eliza as he paused taking in her violet eyes for the first time.

"Well, that's because we do drink human blood, but only from donated blood bags. We only feed on humans in dire circumstances." Eliza said with a touch of pride. "The stuff we get is cast off, marked to be destroyed or sent for testing. You can literally order it online, and a parcel service will deliver it to your doorstep."

Jasper frowned a bit, then nodded, seemingly at least partially satisfied with the answer. Then he looked to Mei. "I know we are only allies for now, but I would hope it's not too much to ask that you not feed in town."

"Of course, I have not killed a human outside those that I was ordered to, in over three centuries." Mei said with no hint of anger or indignation.

"How is that possible, or is that too personal a question?" Rosalie asked with genuine curiosity, even though her expression came off as a bit more incredulous.

"It is a personal question, but not a private one. I feed off of Kira, who regenerates her blood at such a rate that I never have to worry about draining her." Her formal way of speaking seemed to falter a little, and some real pride laced through her tone. Kira gave her a small squeeze around the midsection, and Mei managed a small smile.

"That's possible? What about your venom?" Eliza asked suddenly very curious.

"It takes a certain level of restraint, but yes it is possible. The venom can hurt a shifter, their body rejects it. The times I've failed to hold back, Kira got very sick for several days." Mei said with a touch of guilt. "She's built up relative immunity to it now."

Kira spoke up, "Yeah, it kind of sucks. Fever, hallucinations; actually the hallucinations were kind of fun, but mostly it was like a bad flu. Then my body burned it out, and I was fine. Now that I'm pretty much unaffected by it, it's actually sexy as hell when she gets worked up..."

"Although this is probably not the place for that line of thought." Mei interjected blandly. Kira looked a bit sheepish, but gave Mei a suggestive smile. Mei clinched her jaw slightly, but it was clear she was more embarrassed than angry.

"So, that blows about everything we thought out of the water." Adara said with a slight smirk, looking pointedly at the two other vampire-shifter couples. Eliza was looking at Leah with a questioning look, and Bree was keeping her gaze away from Seth entirely.

Leah mouthed, "later" to Eliza, but didn't say no. Eliza nodded once, and didn't make an issue of it.

"That does beg the question. I know that technically you aren't hurting people, but our diet is more than that. It allows us to curb or instinctual need for human blood, and it is a symbol for our ways of life. It also allows us to pass for human more easily, I think we give off less creepy vibes because we don't feed from humans." Alice said in an upbeat, but serious tone.

"I need to think about it personally, but I won't speak for my daughters, it's their choice." Isabella really thought about it for the first time. When she emerged from the ground, she was practically rabid. Killing felt natural. When Eliza entered her life, she tried to change for her. Sticking to blood bags as an alternative was a good compromise.

In the years that followed, they had only killed maybe a dozen humans, and Isabella made a point that the ones they did feed off directly were hardly good people. She had never thought to follow the Cullen's way of life, because she wanted to get as far from that memory as possible. Now, after everything... she honestly didn't know what to do.

"I'm already exclusive to animals, I'm done with killing to feed." Bree said solemnly.

"You weren't to blame sweetie, that was a different life." Rosalie said to Bree with a parental smile, giving her a small hug and a smile of pride.

"I'll give it a shot, although I wonder if it isn't more of a moral choice. Is killing animals less of a crime than drinking from blood bags designated to be destroyed? I'm kind of ambivalent either way, but it's something to think about." Eliza said with a shrug.

"Food for thought, but I think that's settled for now. If there's nothing more, I'm going to get a little air before we have an invitation to go see Jacob." Isabella said putting an end to the conversation. It was the last thing she felt like doing, when all she wanted to do was get away from everyone.

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Oliver got about a hundred meters from Emma before turning to watch her go. She was so strong most of the time, that he often forgot that she was also very damaged. What that woman did to Emma was horrible, and it took most of his self restraint to not go on a world-wide search for her to end her miserable life.

He frowned as she disappeared around a building, and sighed slightly at the possibility of never seeing her again. She had never quite been a daughter to him, but they had never been able to get over their human connections and become something more than just friends. Instead they were family, and he loved her as almost a sister, ... the only thing that made that relationship awkward was their mutual parental love of Zoey.

Coming back to Zoey he turned and ran full tilt towards the apartment. She was still human, and therefore vulnerable. He used the cover of night to conceal his movements, and used rooftops where he couldn't avoid crowds. Until finally he reached their block, and made his way towards their apartment with a touch of nervous anticipation. This was the first day of another fresh start. If the Caravelli coven was about to break out into open warfare with another coven, getting the hell out of dodge was the only option. If it was vampire equivalent of a turf war, staying was not exactly conducive to long term health. Besides, Zoey would need time to adjust to her new existence, if she chose to become one of them.

He had been so sure that she would choose to be with them, that he never thought about the alternative. What if she didn't want to go through with it? The thought almost stopped him cold, it was an old worry, and he frowned again at the resurgence of it. There was no point in being indecisive, this was as good a time as any for her to choose one way or the other.

He moved through the building with ease, this was home, or at least he'd come to think of it as such. They had spent time in so many places over the years, but Chicago had become one of the places they felt like they fit in. Oliver wrapped his hand on the door knob of his home and stopped, the contact sent a flood of images through his mind, and the most recent was not only unexpected it was terrifying.

Zoey heard a knock on the door and pulling headphones out of her ears went to answer. The man standing in the doorway was a vampire, and nearly a newborn to boot. Oliver traced this strangers path to this point easily enough, he had followed Oliver's own scent trail from the crime scene where they were ambushed. Oliver kicked in the door without hesitation, knowing stealth was pointless at this point.

Zoey was laid out on the dining room table, that ended up being used for work more often than not. Several half-empty cartons of Chinese takeout were knocked over on the floor. The vampire stood over her, a single finger on her throat.

"I let go of this, and she dies quickly. So keep coming, I dare you." He smiled maliciously at Oliver, who was restraining himself from leaping at the vampire. His only hope was that this newborn had bitten into her. If he had, then the venom would seal the wound. He wanted to laugh at that irony, in this idiot's attempt to keep her alive long enough to threaten Oliver, he might have inadvertently saved her life.

"Did she taste good?" Oliver asked with a casual smile, he wanted to make it seem as though her life meant nothing.

"Actually she was delicious, what do you feed her?" The vampire responded with some attempt at wit. It was enough though, Oliver knew he was too young not to have spread his venom... so Oliver launched himself at the man who hurt his adopted daughter. He used his momentum to fly over the table, and into him before he could react. Age did have some perks, like the advantage of speed and control over strength.

He didn't waste time, and before his opponent knew what was happening, Oliver had removed his head from his shoulders with an efficient twist. He looked at the decapitated monster and stomped on its skull once, shattering it into a dozen smaller pieces. Then he leaned over Zoey, and sighed in relief that her neck wasn't oozing blood.

"I'm here sweetie, I know it hurts but it won't be forever." He turned away from her reluctantly, and headed for the safe in his bedroom closet. He grabbed their important files and bank account documents, Emma's diaries, old passports and ID's, and Zoey's birth certificate and pictures of her human family. Along with a few old pictures of his own human family, and Emma's.

Then he grabbed his emergency bag, and then went to Emma's and Zoey's rooms and gather their emergency bags as well. He put them all on the floor near the table where Zoey was laying. Before retrieving some lighter fluid and a box of wooden matches. The Venom always accelerated the fire, leaving almost no trace of a vampire's remains. He hoped the fire wouldn't spread too far, but he couldn't think about that. He'd pull a fire alarm when he exited the building just to be safe. He sprayed the flammable liquid over the body and quickly lit a match and flicked it onto the body as well. The blaze was immediate and large, and the purple smoke quickly began to fill the room.

He gently picked up Zoey, retrieved the bags, and made a beeline to the stairs, which he was well aware didn't have surveillance, to the parking garage where he had an escape vehicle. Zoey didn't make a sound through the entire process, even though he knew from experience that she was going through something far more excruciating than the worse pain he had ever felt as a human.

He took the long route, making sure to take several abrupt turns and twists to be absolutely sure no one was following him, and made it to Uriel's after a very long hour. He wanted to find out if she was alright, he couldn't imagine his life without Emma. She was family. She was his sister, his friend, the person he trusted most in the world. He made it to the door, and before he could even turn the handle she opened it. She looked like she had freshened up, and he realized he smelled like he had taken a swim in the river, and then been around a fire.

"Hey you." Emma said with a smile. "Hug later, you smell like a shoe dropped in a sewer. Wait, where's Zoey?" Emma looked towards the SUV with fear, but Oliver shook his head.

"She isn't dead. One of them was there and bit her." He frowned, and she sighed in relief. He wasn't thrilled that her choice was stolen from her, but at least she was alive. He was relatively sure that she would have made the same choice, only wishing that it wasn't some strange newborn who had bitten her, but someone in her family that she trusted.

"I'll get her. Uriel is already working on new ID's." She moved past him towards the big black monstrosity of a car, and he went inside with a strange sense of hope. This was the beginning, they were alive, and they were together. It didn't know what was going to happen next, but he wasn't sure he cared.

Oliver made his way inside and took a quick shower and changed into something that didn't smell exactly like Emma described. He would've retched if he were human. He was half tempted to set the entire outfit on fire, but instead opted to shove it all in a large black contractors trash bag. Then he went downstairs to find everyone in the living area.

"The Caravelli's are gone. I was too late." Emma said as he settled behind Uriel so he could watch what he was doing. She was sitting in a large desk chair, dressed far more casually than normal in dark jeans and a simple black tee-shirt with no logo.

Zoey was unconscious on Uriel's overstuffed black leather couch. Oliver sat on a quarter wall that separated the spacious living room from the dining room that served as Uriel's office. There was a large bank of computer monitors with hundreds of programs running, flat screen televisions with a dozen different channels on ranging from three different sporting events, business news, local news, national news, and a couple of international news channels. All at medium volume. The main monitor he was using had a template program running, that he was currently futzing with it to get the typeface updated to the current federal regulations.

Uriel was one of the best identity forgers in the country. It had nothing to do with him being an artist or being able to match fonts on driver's licenses and passports. It had nothing with him being able to match the holograms, the paper type or look of any identifications. Any half decent forger could make a passport or license that looked good enough to pass even more than casual inspection.

No the genius behind Uriel was twofold. His identities were always clean. It would hardly be good to get an identity, only to find out that the identity you had picked up was wanted for murder in some state. The second, and equally as important piece was that his identities were always complete. If someone did a background check on the history Uriel provided; that background would not only come across as clean, but absolutely real. Including no criminal history, educational background and diplomas, even tax histories if someone looked deep enough. He was careful not to make it look too spotless though, dropping in a parking ticket, or a speeding ticket here and there. He even provided a record of medical insurance.

It also explained why Uriel was able to charge an arm and a leg. He was worth every penny and he knew it. He was a thin man, turned in his early thirties. He always wore dark glasses to hide his eyes, that way he didn't have to put up with stupid contact lenses, or at least that was his excuse. Emma always thought it was because he was lost in a movie from the last century. He had long dark hair that was usually pulled back into a pony tail, although it was currently out around his shoulders. When Emma made the announcement, he seemed to freeze for several seconds before turning his head. "Okay that's it. I'm going to ground. After this job I'm out for a while, until this shit blows over."

Emma frowned. "What if we need your services?"

He gave her a smirk, and reached into his pocket to retrieve a business card. "Use this number, leave a message and I'll get back to you. But don't expect a quick response." His smirk faded as he returned to his work.

"That's fine Uriel, I imagine we won't need you again for a decade or so." Oliver said with a frown.

"Sounds good to me. Things should have more than calmed down by then." Uriel said distractedly.

"That's all nice and fine, but I'm afraid the Caravelli's are not the only coven that has fallen. Covens all over the world seem to be under siege or are simply disappearing." Emma elaborated with a deepening frown. Her dark expression gave Oliver a bad feeling.

"Who's doing it?" He asked a bit rhetorically. He didn't expect Emma to have any answers.

It was Uriel who half turned, "Not sure who is behind it, but there are some rumors. You said wolves attacked you. Well word's out on a group of wolves that come from some shitty little backwater town in the armpit of Washington state."

"What town?" Emma asked

"It was… Forks I believe." Uriel said in a tone that displayed his total lack of interest. Then he turned completely back to his work.

"Shit, I know that town, I have trouble believing anyone from there would be involved." Oliver said feeling a twinge of regret at leaving all those years ago. More than regret, he was filled with dread because he had a pretty damn good idea who Uriel was talking about when he mentioned wolves.

"If I had to guess, I'd say you were too late. The Volturi are already in the area, once again, rumor is they took down a group of them in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. So by the time you go there I imagine they'll be cleaned out. How do you know anyway?" Uriel asked with mild curiosity. Not looking away from his work.

"You know that probably means the town is in shambles. Which is a shame, I was thinking we should at least warn them." Emma added somberly.

"Well I haven't seen anything on the news about the town being attacked or anything. I've tried to keep an eye on newsfeeds from the state ever since it first popped up in rumors." Uriel said, his tone still distracted.

"Hmm. So maybe there's still some time." Emma said thoughtfully.

"Wait, you actually wanna go? It'll probably be a mess." Oliver responded in surprise.

"I think it's time. Volturi or not." Emma smiled a bit, she knew Oliver wanted to go the instant the name Forks was brought up in conversation. She didn't even need to read his mind to know.

"You guys are nuts. Even if it's cleaned out, that place will be a madhouse for weeks I bet, as vamps come to get wolf heads." Uriel said incredulously.

"Then the human's will be defenseless." Emma said with a compassionate tone, her dark expression brightening a little at the prospect of doing some good for a change.

"Is that enough of a reason?" Oliver said curiously.

"If we plan to settle there, yes." Emma said with a look that made it clear she thought it was time to go home.

"I think you might be jumping the gun a little bit Emma, I think we should watch and wait, help where we can and figure out if we want to stay maybe. I'll admit building a life there again has its appeal, but right now might be too chaotic. Plus we have Zoey who needs time before she can be around humans." Oliver's answer was logical, but he tended to be less picky about the places they choose to go. Emma tended to be a little more discerning so he deferred to her entirely.

"You know I don't give a shit about semantics. Settle, linger... whatever. I just think it's time. I'm tired of pretending my name isn't Angela. Like I know you hate hiding behind Oliver... Charlie."

"You know that doesn't matter to me that much. You're the one that picked out the name Oliver for this round of identities." Charlie said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah well, I picked it from Oliver Twist, I thought Bella would've liked it. She always loved the classics. You'd have picked another baseball player's name." Angela retorted with a slight but serious smile.

"She always liked Dickens. I never made the connection. Hey what's wrong with my name choices?" Charlie said suddenly feeling a little sensitive.

"You tend to pick perfectly good names, but your 'pitchers who pitched perfect games' list was getting pretty narrow." Angela said with a shrug.

"I cycle through them." Charlie retorted defensively.

Angela scoffed. "Yes, I know. But you said the next name on your list was Felix Hernandez!"

"What's wrong with that?" Charlie began to huff, causing Angela to smile. She loved it when he got frustrated like this.

"Um. Last time I checked... you're not Hispanic" She said with a slightly smug smile.

"Well... besides that I mean... So if my names are so bad, why did you pick a comic book character for yourself?" Charlie retorted with a smug smile of his own.

Angela looked down, she hadn't been sure until that moment why she'd picked her own name. Ben had been a huge comic book fanatic, and loved Emma Frost. She closed her eyes at the memories that drudged up, and shivered as a slight chill ran down her spine.

Then she stood to move over to Charlie, her expression turned serious. "You deserve to stand tall, be the man you were. I've kept you away for long enough." Angela said with sincere admiration and more than a little guilt.

"I never minded. God knows I have enough reason to stay away from that place. Losing Ben the way you did was enough of a reason for you to stay away." Charlie met her eyes, and she didn't flinch at the mention of his name for the first time that he could remember.

"Oh, that reminds me, I ran into Jessica, the psychotic bitch is calling herself Harley now. Which is such a stupid name, she thinks that no one will respect her with a name like Jessica. Stupid twit can't figure out the reason no one respects her has nothing to do with her name. She was part of this whole plan to attack."

"Well I guess we have another reason to hate them." Charlie said and looked at Uriel who was staring at them both with a strange expression.

"I need names." Uriel said flatly. He clearly didn't want to get involved in a personal discussion. Keeping clients at arms lengths kept them clients instead of friends. Which was so much simpler than getting involved.

"Okay, so we go by our real names. Do you want to use Weber again? Or should we come up with something new?" Charlie asked,

"I'd rather take your name, I wouldn't mind being called Angela Swan. I think of you as a brother, so it makes sense to me." Angela responded after a lengthy pause, her voice low.

Charlie didn't give her a hard time or linger on her decision, knowing she'd be uncomfortable if he did. So he kept his tone blasé as he continued. "Okay, it's settled then. Uriel, put down our names as Charles, Angela, and Zoey... Swan."

"Charles… Angela… Zoey… Swan." Uriel parroted as he typed the information into the computer. "Shouldn't be hard to create those identities. So whatever floats your boat." Uriel said with a smirk, before completing the documents and sending them to the printer.

Angela looked at Charlie and took a deep breath, they were going home for the first time since their lives had been destroyed. It was a big, if long overdue step.

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**Author's note: SURPRISE! O_O **

**1) How about that? Charlie and Angela are ALIVE? HOLY SHIT! **

**I'm hoping readers like this.**

**How did they get there? What's their story? What happened to them? That shall be revealed sooner rather than later. **

**2) I didn't get any feedback on the visual reference I have for Mei in my profile. Please take a look and tell me what you think? I'd like to know if you envision her in the same way. **

**Yes she wields bladed weapons. Yes there's totes a reason for it. **

**3) Samantha Minuet's**** Co-Authors Note: I initially fought to keep the Charlie/Angela reveal from you guys for another four chapters, but Kathryn had a cooler head. I honestly can't wait to read all of your reactions, their story was something we had been planning since I joined up with Kathryn. Although it didn't come together until recently. Also... we will have some serious Bellice stuff very soon, so those of you waiting impatiently... it's coming soon! Until next time... thank you all for your reviews!**

**4) ****However, I had planned to bring them both into the story pretty much from the start, but I had originally envisioned them COMPLETELY different. Samantha, through many hours of arguing and poking and prodding, and the occasional death threat, has come up with them this way. Trust me. Her way is so much better than what I had thought of. **

**5) Yes, Bellice stuff coming soon. However I hope you all can see that the connection between the two is there, and growing throughout the rest of the writing. **

**6) Please Read and Review!**


	42. Pulled from the Abyss

**~ Chapter 42 ~**

_**So I sit here divided, just talking to myself**_

_**When a voice from behind me, that was fighting back tears**_

_**Sat right down beside me, whispered right in my ear**_

_**Said, I've been dying to tell you**_

_**That trying not to love you, only went so far**_

_**Trying not to need you, was tearing me apart**_

_**Now I see the silver lining, from what we're fighting for**_

_**We just keep on trying, we could be much more**_

_**'Cause trying not to love you**_

_**Only makes me love you more**_

Rosalie had been watching Isabella ever since she had unloaded what amounted to a century of repressed guilt and denial on Isabella; and publically no less. Normally Rosalie would never have left herself so open to ridicule or recrimination that way, but for once Rosalie didn't care in the slightest. Her focus wasn't on the others, and how they might react to what she said. What was important was how the dark-eyed woman would take her open and honest confession.

At first Rosalie assumed Isabella would scoff or immediately rebuke her, but instead she seemed to take it in stride. However, something in Isabella's eyes made Rosalie think that she wasn't as cool as she seemed to be acting externally. It was just a feeling, nothing more tangible than a flicker of a look, but it was almost enough to convince Rosalie that something was amiss.

Isabella was very good at keeping up her dark and foreboding mask, but that mask was nothing on the one that Rosalie had been wearing for years. She spent a good majority of her life pretending she was a shallow pool of a person. Honing her thoughts so that Edward would never be clued in, deliberately making selfish remarks so that her social status within the family was very specific. After nearly two centuries of observation, and analyzing the minute social cues needed create a successful stage presence, she had managed to craft for herself a persona whose motivations and action's were very predictable.

It wasn't that she consciously wanted to conceal herself from the family. She just had gotten in the habit of hiding her true thoughts from men at an early age, and when she realized that Edward was a telepath she learned to do the same with him for own privacy. The byproduct of that skill was an almost second hand ability to gauge what people were thinking. Most of the time it was an irrelevant talent, especially when living in the same household as a telepath, but on occasion it came in handy.

In Isabella's case, Rosalie recognized subtle signs that told her that the mask Isabella had very carefully put in place, was in fact a front to hide any and all inner turmoil, and that mask seemed to be slipping. Mostly it was the subtle shifts and flicks of Isabella's eyes, those micro expressions hinted at something was building inside of her, something that could possibly be more than Isabella could handle. Or perhaps it was the subtle way she seemed to be getting worked up, even though they weren't really talking about anything consequential. For most people the relative levity of the conversation should be bringing down her stress, not increasing it.

Then like she was hit by a bolt of lightning, realization struck her; it occurred to her; Isabella probably hadn't had a moment alone since the explosion, at least. Which meant she had been occupied for a week straight. For someone whose world had been knocked completely off its axis, that was a likely taking a heavy toll on her psyche. Couple that with everything that had occurred in the last couple of days, it was a lot to happen to someone without any time to process or think things through.

In the past Rosalie might have ignored the information, stored it in the back of her vast memory, and hoped that she would be able to deal with things in her own time. That was the past, and this was a situation where she didn't have to make the same tired choices. She had meant every word of her confession, and could sit idly by as someone she said she cared about was in emotional conflict. The only problem was she didn't exactly sure how to approach her, let alone how to separate her without making it obvious that she was just trying to give Isabella some time alone. She almost smirked, if this Isabella was anything at all like the girl she used to be, she very much needed some time to go over her thoughts, and she needed to do it alone.

Rosalie's brow was furrowed in thought as she half paid attention as Emmett and Eliza were tossing out ideas for rooms for the design of the new house. Then it dawned on her, she could use Bree as a plausible excuse. The conversation had already run away into a deeply elaborate plan, and Emmett was currently extolling the need for an indoor pool, so this was the perfect opportunity. She moved around the group slowly, until she was standing next to Isabella who stood like a statue staring into fire, clearly not listening to a word anyone was saying.

"Could I have a word with you?" Rosalie whispered softly, but loud enough for the group to hear.

"I guess… about what?" Isabella tore herself away from her silent contemplation. She had completely exited the conversation, trying to take the time to sort out her own thoughts, but she couldn't concentrate enough to do it very well with so many people around. She had been mulling over the idea of just slipping away to think, but couldn't quite figure out how to do it without breaking her own rules. She had put those rules there for people's safety, and while she wasn't all that concerned that she was in any danger, she felt it the height of hypocrisy to say one thing and then turn around and immediately do the other. If this situation had been back at the Volturi, she'd have just shaken her head, gone off on her own, and taken the scolding from Aro, and the standard sneer from Caius. God, she already hated being a leader.

"Something personal, do you mind speaking alone?" Rosalie said trying to be tactful, with a slight nod of her head away from the group, but Isabella just glared at her. Rosalie tilted her head to the side and let her eyes settle on Bree, and then she shifted her gaze back to Isabella. It took two repetitions for Isabella to realize what Rosalie was intimating.

Once Isabella realized what Rosalie wanted to talk about, she narrowed her eyes at the blonde in suspicion, but nodded once.

Together they moved from the group, Isabella slowed when they were far enough away that she was relatively certain that none of the others could overhear them if they tried. However Rosalie kept walking further away, not slowing until they were into the trees of the forest. Isabella frowned but decided it was easier to follow her. She figured it was very unlikely that Rosalie was trying to lure her someplace so that she could attack her.

Rosalie turned around once they were a small distance into the trees, clearly deciding that she had found a suitable spot, and looked Isabella in the eyes. The words on her tongue died as she met Isabella's blank expression. Rosalie was still a touch startled at how much the intensity of those red eyes changed Isabella's face. She seemed like the absolute definition of an apex predator. As a vampire it was in her nature to embrace her more instinctive and predatory side. However right now that part of Rosalie was screaming at her to flee from _this_ greater predator.

The effect was eerie to Rosalie, because as a vampire she wasn't used to encountering superior predators. Clearly after the display she had seen with the newborn army, it was no stretch to believe Isabella was a formidable warrior. Still, it was such a departure from the girl she had once been. It brought up a question in Rosalie's mind, one that she wasn't quite ready ask, what had happened to her?

"Are you sure about training Bree?" Rosalie asked suddenly, even shocking herself slightly at her abrupt start.

Isabella looked at her for a long moment then frowned, an expression that quickly turned to a scowl. "You expect me to leave her helpless?" The anger in Isabella's voice at the mere suggestion of the idea was clear.

Rosalie was quickly shaking her head, "Of course not. I would _never_ suggest something like that, I just mean…" Her voice trailed off as she tried to think on how to put her question into words. Rosalie abruptly turned and stepped away, finally taking her eyes off Isabella's face as she ran her hand through her hair.

Isabella simply watched Rosalie, giving her time to compose her thoughts.

"Look, I've had time while you were… unconscious to get to know Bree. She's not…" Rosalie sighed and trailed off, frustration leaking through. "She's had a hard life, she's not even had time to be a kid. You've seen her, how excited she gets by the smallest things. She's a good kid."

Isabella's scowl darkened further, if Rosalie had seen it she would have recoiled from the danger it represented. Her response was clipped. "I am well aware of how little time she's had to be a kid, believe me when I say… I know _exactly _what she's gone through and the life she's had."

Rosalie turned back to look at Isabella surprised at the sudden edge in Isabella's voice. She opened her mouth to tell her that it had taken her days to persuade Bree to open up, when she remembered what Bree had told her about the visions she'd seen from the others, and their ability to talk to one another. Rosalie nodded slightly and deliberately softened her tone. "I'm not saying I want her to be helpless, or unable to defend herself. I'm just not sure she's… oh hell. What I'm trying to say, without sticking my foot in my mouth, is that I'm not sure she's going to be like you and Eliza seem to be. She just doesn't seem… to have the same level of ruthle- I mean… she doesn't strike me as a warrior, no matter how much she wants to stand by your side."

Isabella expression instantly softened as she understood Rosalie's concerns, she nodded a little bit. "To be perfectly frank, I'm not sure if she does either. Whether she will be, or won't be as... proficient in death as we are, isn't entirely the point. She's young, and has never had what you would call a stable living environment. She's learning what it means to have fun and be safe. Safe will probably be my area, while fun is something more up Eliza's alley than mine."

Rosalie frowned a little bit, "She's going to need more than just having fun and feeling safe. Family is about more than that."

Isabella managed a small smile, "I know, but it's a start. And I guess it's a good thing that she's got an "Aunt Rose and Uncle Em.' to help out."

The corner of Rosalie's mouth twitched before she broke out into a full grown laugh for several seconds before her face turned serious again. "So you still want to train her to fight like the two of you do?"

Isabella responded after a moment of careful thought. Her voice was deadly as she clearly considered the matter. "No, but I can't refuse to train her either. She wants to learn, and I won't hold her back. She will make her own decision as to what kind of fighter she is. I have the feeling that she is going to feel obligated to try and be like Eliza or worse yet, me."

"You don't want that?" Rosalie asked, her eyes intently focused on Isabella's expression, checking for signs that she wasn't being honest about her intentions.

"I want her to be her own person, no matter how that turns out. If she turns out like Eliza, I'll be okay with that. About the last thing I want for her is to turn out like me." Isabella said, a haunted expression crossing her face for a moment.

Rosalie thought about commenting, but instead she let the moment pass, knowing that any rapport she had built would be destroyed by her trying to press for too much too soon. Instead she replied, "Bree can be stubborn, so I guess I'll just have to watch her back if she ever does get into a combat situation."

Rosalie smiled at Isabella, until she took in Isabella's suddenly dubious expression. When Isabella didn't say anything to go along with the comment Rosalie was forced to ask, "What?"

"What makes you think you're qualified to watch her back?" Isabella asked bluntly.

Rosalie clenched jaw and stared at Isabella for a moment, "I know you're deadly, I can see it in your posture, I can see it in your every movement. That doesn't mean we're pushovers. Carlisle might not be someone that could ever take a life again, but he knows perfectly well that pacifism in our world is suicidal. He trained us until Jasper joined, then Jasper took over. I know you never really got to know him, but he trained newborns how to fight in wars for decades. He..."

Isabella shook her head cutting Rosalie's explanation short, "Then explain to me why you never seem to have your guard up! If you're so well trained, how can you justify walking through life in such an oblivious way? If you were attacked right now, a new Volturi recruit could get through what I've seen of your defenses. Even when you flattened Edward, if he had been prepared, or competent in the slightest, he could've taken you down with minimal effort." Her voice was impassioned, and it was clear she felt very strongly about her point.

Rosalie blinked at the interruption, and hesitated for several seconds as she processed Isabella's rebuttal. " I always assumed when I was in the presence of family, keeping a careful eye on my surroundings was enough. Though I'm not so proud to deny that I have things to learn about combat. I meant it when I said I want to train with you, when you start training Bree."

Isabella frowned and slowly nodded her head, "I guess you wouldn't always need to be on your guard. Look I'm not judging anyone's skills, I'm saying I don't know what those skills are until I've seen them for myself. I know you want to join in, but you do realize that the training is probably going to be extremely frustrating for you? Even more so than it is likely to be for Bree."

Rosalie frowned at that. "Why?"

"Because… you may have experience that will make up the gap, especially at first, but Bree is going to be faster and stronger than you, and I will be going at her rate, which means it'll probably be a very steep, yet quick learning curve. I don't have time for hand holding. Though she's likely to hate me a little, and get upset more than once, I think Bree's probably stubborn enough to persevere." Once more Isabella's voice wasn't accusing merely bland and factual.

Rosalie shrugged a little bit, "I know I'm not as fast or as strong as you, and I never will be. If you push me to my limits I cannot go any further, so I have no doubt that I will never be able to match you or Eliza, or even Bree."

Isabella frowned, "Trust me, I know." She rolled her eyes, it took five years to realize that the guard recruits she was sparing with couldn't ever rise to her level of speed and strength. So she managed with what they were capable of.

Rosalie almost grinned at Isabella's reaction, since Isabella looked almost conspiratorial about that fact. "The truth is, I don't really know how you're different, or why. Like I'm completely in the dark why you hated us beyond our abandonment of you. I'm not pushing, I just need you to know I'm in the dark, and that I'm literally diving into the shallow end of the pool with you. Look, train me, I'll do my best and hopefully I'll improve. As for Bree, I will respect her wishes provided you do the same."

Isabella nodded once. "Of course, as for the rest. Give me time, trust isn't forged in a day."

"I know, and I hope you know that I'm trusting you. Bree is really something special, I'm so glad you and Eliza stood up for her, and brought her into your family." Rosalie smiled a little bit, glancing back in the direction they had come.

Rosalie's approval had never entered Isabella's mind, but it was nice to hear. She managed a small smile in return, then furrowed her brow.

"What else? I mean is that all you brought me out here for?" Isabella was again suspicious, because she wasn't sure that their previous conversation required this much privacy, but Rosalie didn't seem to be surprised by the question.

Rosalie simply smiled and shook her head. "Now that I have that off my chest. I'm gonna get out of your hair. There has to be a ton of things you need to sort out about everything that's happened. Have you even had a moment alone since the explosion?"

Rosalie's question caught Isabella completely off guard, she didn't think the blonde was capable of that much empathy, or had the ability to read her quite so clearly. "I... thank you." Isabella said after a long moment.

"No thanks required." Rosalie said softly, before she turned and ran off without so much as wave goodbye.

Alone for the first time in what felt like weeks, at first Isabella didn't quite know what to do with herself. So she sat under a tree, closed off her side of the connection to her daughter's as much as she could manage, and started to think about everything that had happened. She didn't really want to conceal things from them, but she also didn't want to expose them to her raw emotions while she was still sorting them out in her head.

It was just that she wasn't sure exactly what she was feeling, and that lack of clarity, and the sheer level of confusion those unfocused moments caused, were entirely alien to her She was used to making decisions on missions, she was used to following her instincts. They had served her well. Yet even when she was in charge of herself and Eliza there was a distinct goal, this situation was far more amorphous.

She didn't know which way to go next, and she didn't know why. Did she really need Aro to tell her what to do? Was she that dependant on a voice of direction? No, she refused to believe Aro's prejudices had any value. Besides, she had spent most of her existence choosing her own path. So what now? Why was this different?

She knew it was a question that she already had the answer to. She knew what was weighing on her. She was used to being the only one who had to deal with the consequences of her actions and decisions. It was different now. It was a scary truth that if she messed up, a lot more people could end up dead besides herself.

That wasn't the only thing bothering her. The sudden feeling of a group, and the ease that her daughters both seemed to have slipping into it, troubled her to no end. She didn't need their bond to know how much they both liked the sudden swelling of the coven. To suddenly have a social outlet where they both were accepted, and not instantly branded as freaks or outcasts, was very appealing for both her daughters.

Isabella wasn't so sure. She pondered if letting the Cullen's in, and dropping their guards down so easily was as dangerous as she felt. Yet she couldn't shake what Rosalie had said.

After so many years of hate, or blind indifference, could she really accept these people into her home and life again. Could she ever trust them the way she once had? When she was human, she loved them all, they were a part of her. A part that had been ripped out when Edward forced them to leave.

Alice.

Was that the real focus of that betrayal? If she could forgive Alice, how could she possibly hold the rest of the Cullen's as traitors when they so clearly regretted their actions? Still, they had left whether they were manipulated or not. They left her defenseless when the bitch came and took her, tore down her human body, and forced her into that hole in the ground. Into that hell.

That wasn't even the worst of it. The bitch had also killed, and likely tortured her family too. The Cullen's had failed them as well, just by not being in town. Just thinking about that stuff brought up all kinds of rage, and she could feel it drawing the attention of her daughters, so she quickly turned her mind to Alice. Focusing on her seemed to help calm her, but at the same time the mere thought of her seemed to bring on a swell of emotions that worked against Isabella's need for calm. She couldn't deny it anymore, even to herself, that she desired Alice. There was no deep emotional soul searching required when it came to that truth.

However, Alice brought out something deeper inside her as well. She felt this… terrible need inside her, more than just attraction or desire. She felt something indefinable, but somehow familiar. A sensation that expressed itself as a need to be close to Alice, but it was more than that. She felt the need to claim Alice, to make it clear to the world that Alice was _hers. _

Alice's confession about her vision of them together hadn't helped. Were they really supposed to be together? Back then it would've been difficult to process, that many changes in lifestyle would've sent her into a tailspin, but at the same time she knew somewhere deep inside that it was the way it should've been. Had that been her life, none of this would've happened. She could've been happy, and maybe even innocent of true horror and violence.

Then Joham would've killed Eliza. Joham would've used and discarded Bree. And their Coven would likely be dead by that newborn army. So there was no point in conjecture about another life that could never be.

In this life she felt like nothing more than an assassin using a dagger to backstab and kill at the behest of others. Although occasionally she felt like nothing more than a weapon at times. The question that bothered her was a simple one. Was she really the assassin, or was she only the weapons she wielded?

It was an impossible train of thought, which forced Isabella to shake her head in frustration. She had been happy being the weapon. No, that wasn't quite true. She had been okay being a weapon. A weapon the Volturi used, since that was all that she was to them. Yet she knew deep inside if she was going to beat them, and keep her family safe, she would need to be more than a weapon. Her new purpose had to be more, and that meant she had to become neither the assassin nor the weapon, but the one that sends the assassin on her missions. Which was a role she had never even considered before, and a role she wasn't entirely sure she was suited to.

Yet even that mind boggle wasn't really the problem. There were no answers if she simply danced around what really dominated her thoughts, which were truly focused on one thing, Alice. Alice had set something loose inside her, and the monster that had once constantly urged her to share her anger and pain with any in her path, was suddenly pushing towards a different thing, connection to another living being. Except the instinctual urges were to maim or destroy, but to claim her utterly and completely.

The sheer intensity of the emotion scared her. Scared her in a way few things really could anymore, since she'd seen the kind of darkness most couldn't comprehend. She had stared into the abyss, and embraced it when she felt it staring back at her. She's made the shadows her home, and had even faced death and came back kicking. There was no fear, except somehow a vampire with short black hair and amber eyes managed to stir something inside of her that made her want to run as far and as fast as her immortal legs could take her.

Or... she had to have her, body and soul. She wanted to consume her, to possess her in a way she had never felt about anything before, but that was dangerous, it ventured far too closely to the relationship, that she had with Edward. That almost made her want to laugh, she didn't have a relationship with Edward, she was nothing more than a possession to him. Could she do the same thing Alice? If all she felt was an urge to take her, was she any better than the smug asshole that ruined her life?

Isabella's thoughts lingered on Alice as she turned over how she felt about her. Her thoughts eventually drifted to their interaction from a few minutes earlier. She hadn't wanted to go shopping. She generally hated shopping. She'd hated it back when she was human, and ninety years hadn't reversed her dislike of it, but somehow Alice got her way. Isabella frowned at that, it was another unexpected parallel to her relationship with Edward. She had given in and agreed to do something she didn't want to do.

Isabella hadn't been able to see it when she and Edward were together, but his casual way of convincing her to do things she never really wanted to do, was instrumental in keeping her meek and human. That control over her was both humiliating and intolerable, especially after everything that had happened to her in the intervening years. If Edward had met her now, he would be terrified... of course he was terrified of her. He assumed a vampire version of her would be the same as she was when she was human. None of them knew what had happened to her, none of them could understand why, because they didn't know the cause.

She almost wished she could inflict him with the decade of horror she suffered through. The pain, the insanity, the darkness. It made her smile at the perverse thought of his suffering, except he wasn't really worthy of that level of pain, that revenge would be saved for Victoria... if she ever came across the bitch again. She felt the anger spike again, and once more, almost out of reflex, her mind turned back to thoughts of Alice.

Isabella's brow furrowed at the conflict of Alice's seemingly innocent request provoked in her. She could never be manipulated in a relationship like she had been with Edward. An unexpected surge of anger rose inside her at the thought of Alice doing the same things to her that he had done. She would _never_ accept that sort of treatment again. She started to feel hollow once more, if she lost the prospect of Alice she knew she would atrophy inside. While she didn't want to lose Alice, she wasn't going to subjugate her personality and who she was just to please someone else. She couldn't do that to her daughters, couldn't do that to herself. She had to confront Alice, to end this before it got too far.

She stood up, ready to do exactly that when a bolt of realization hit her that was so strong it made her jaw drop and practically unhinge.

She was _wrong. _ There was a difference. A huge one.

All the times she had gone to do something she hadn't wanted to do with Edward, he'd always manipulated, or outright lied to get her to do things; and it was always under the guise of "for her own good" or "so she wouldn't miss out". When he'd taken her to prom because "she might never have another chance", she should have known right then that he'd never turn her. If he had planned on turning her, he would have known she would've gotten a chance to go to other proms. The irony was she would never have objected if he had simply said that it was something _he_ wanted to do.

Alice hadn't tried to manipulate her. Alice had been honest with her. She didn't tell Isabella she had to go shopping for her own good, or because it was something she _had_ to do, or was just going to miss out on. Alice hadn't tried to coerce or trick her at all, she had simply _asked_ her to go, and had point blank said that it was something _she_ wanted to do. That it was something _Alice_ would enjoy, something that would mean a lot to _her_.

No emotional blackmail, not even the slightest subtext of the withholding of affection or approval.

Then there was the other thing. Her definition of their diet. When it had been brought up earlier, it felt almost like a guilt trip, as if Alice were trying to convert Isabella and her daughters. Only it wasn't Alice that brought it up, Jasper had. Jasper suffered long and hard to gain his ability to control his thirst, she knew that first hand. So his objections were totally understandable.

Alice's definition...was just that, her own interpretation of their diet. She wasn't trying to manipulate, she was just expressing her own thoughts. Isabella wasn't sure how to take her thoughts on the matter though. Was she saying that she wanted Isabella to give up human blood for her? Both dilemma's circled through her thoughts like sharks, but she didn't have much time to analyze those thoughts before an unexpected voice startled her out of her internal reverie.

"So where's Rosalie? I thought you said we weren't supposed to go off alone. One of the rules." Alice's voice came at her from the side, and was only slightly admonishing. Mostly she seemed to be teasing her.

Isabella started slightly, amazed that anyone got that close to her without her realizing it. She turned towards Alice, and let her eyes run up the simple blue jeans, and light blue top she had on, before looking up into her eyes.

"Rosalie's idea. She thought I needed some time alone. She's within shouting distance if I need her." Isabella didn't really know why she felt the need to defend her actions, since she would've normally tried to maintain an indifferent air. She could feel her own frown, and the intensity in her fixed stare directed at Alice's face. Alice smiled, and shrugged slightly.

"Can I join you?" She asked softly, this time Isabella did manage to shrug. It was all Alice needed though, as she shifted gracefully to lean into the tree that Isabella had been standing next to. Isabella sat back down, and Alice slid down with her. The intervening seconds were silent, uncomfortably silent.

Alice wasn't used to breaking silences in an uncertain manner. Most of the conversations she had with people, or other vampires could be foreseen and she'd manage to avoid pitfalls and social problems. Her inability to see Isabella made that impossible. While it was very refreshing, facing the unknown, it was also very intimidating for her at times like this. Feeling conversations like this would be important, but one that she could bullocks up if approached wrong. Not for the first time, she wished fervently to share the link that Bree had described to them. She wished she knew what deep thoughts Isabella was mulling over in that beautiful head of hers.

Isabella didn't know what to say that wasn't antagonistic, so she sat in silence. Her primal urge to claim Alice warring with her conflict over her own thoughts and actions.

It was Alice that broke the silence. "You're a little bit overwhelmed aren't you?" Her voice was soft and slightly uncertain but without any trace of accusation.

Isabella frowned a little bit, wondering if Alice was able to read her mind. "I'm… yeah. It's a bit overwhelming. To go from worrying about watching out for myself and Eliza, to having a coven of eight, ten, if you include Leah and Seth, and twelve if you count Mei and Kira for the moment. I didn't mean to drag you all into this you know?" Although a little bit of her anger and frustration spilled out in the reply, it was a plea for understanding.

"That's not entirely what I meant. Sure being in charge has its share of potential pitfalls, but I was thinking about everything else. You're surrounded by people that you thought betrayed you. You were nearly killed by people you trusted, you have a new daughter... and then there is what is going on between us... if there is something going on between us." Alice's voice dropped to barely a whisper at the end, as if she were saying it more to herself than anything else.

Alice slid her hand along Isabella's arm and then intertwined their fingers together. "You know you didn't drag me into anything. I chose you, I will always choose you. I was absolutely serious when I said I refuse to leave you again. The others followed because they wanted to. You're special; whether you believe it or not."

Once again Isabella felt that calming peace descend on her when Alice's hand slid along her arm. It immediately quelled the anger inside of her, even the stuff that seemed to be directed at Alice.

"What did you mean with the whole diet thing? Did you want to push me into it?" Isabella managed to make her voice not sound accusatory, but it was hard. Alice gave her a slightly hurt look and shook her head emphatically.

"No... not at all. I was trying to give you both sides of the argument so you could weigh your decision with all the facts. I thought you would want to hear what I thought about my diet." Alice said defensively, but also a touch apologetic. She felt ashamed of how she phrased it, if it came across as a demand or a plea.

Isabella thought about it, and it didn't take more than a second to realize she was being truthful, but it did bring up a simple question. "Do you want me to follow your way of doing things? I need you to know that when I was conscious enough to know better, I did my best to hunt down thieves and murderers. I wasn't always successful but I did my best." Isabella had never felt the need to justify her feeding habits before. In truth she had never really consciously feasted on the innocent, except once at Aro's behest.

Of all the things she had done under service to the Volturi, none of them felt particularly evil... except for the one time he demanded her to join them in one of their banquets. It was before Eliza had come into the picture, and her own rage was such that it took every ounce of self control to feed the way she did. It was the only thing that she felt kept true to herself or at least the person she had once been. That she couldn't be a monster entirely, that she wouldn't let herself be like the bitch.

"Not exactly. I want you to follow what you feel is the right choice. If you feel the need to feed from blood bags, I won't admonish that choice. If you want to hunt down murders, I won't stop you. I just want you to be who you are."

"You want to know who I am? I killed humans that smelled foul to me, tracked them as they trafficked in illicit gains which caused pain to others, or committed outright murder. I avoided the feasts, they were barbaric... but more than that I wasn't sure I could resist partaking. One afternoon, Aro was in particularly vindictive mood. He was impatient, and wanted to send me on my first mission, so I was rewarded with a place in their banquet hall. My presence was mandatory." Isabella's face was distant, suddenly she was lost in the memory.

"I know what happens there, you don't have to go on if you don't want to." Alice said trying to ease Isabella's mind about the obviously painful memory.

Isabella barely acknowledged the question. "That's just it, you don't really know. I went in feeling sure I could resist, that I could be better than the rest of them. I didn't have any moral compass though, I thought I was following a code, but it was all an illusion. I went into the hall, there was a massive table set up with dozens of people on it. All of them were naked, and awake. Their hands and feet were bound in leather straps, and they were gagged. Aro was so happy that I was there, and led me around to a seat near the head of the table."

"He set me in front of a teenage boy, no older than I had been when I was turned. He looked at me with terrified eyes, and something clicked inside of me. I couldn't figure out why for a long time, but he reminded me of who I was when the bitch captured me. Helpless and fragile, and human, it set me off. Everything went red, and I went insane. I ripped him apart, fed on him and three others before the guard tried to stop me. I ripped the heads off of the two guards present without thinking, before turning and feasting on four more innocents before the rest of the guard showed up to restrain me. Aro wasn't angry, he was thrilled. That contrary reaction actually calmed me down more than anything. It was a trick he learned to control me when I went off the handle, he learned enough about me to understand that I reacted poorly to anger and even worse to threats, so he made a point to never be angry with me. I still can't say how I really felt. It was almost a relief to cut loose like that." She shuddered slightly at the memory.

"The next day I was sent to South America, and it was there that I encountered Eliza. She changed everything. I had crossed the line, and was right on the edge of becoming a true and irredeemable monster, and I had barely enough conscience left to care. Then Eliza bit me, and somehow… that… no, _she_ pulled me back and made me human again. Now there's… you, I don't think I could live with the idea that I was the one that got you killed, or any of you come to think of it." Isabella's strained to pull out of her memories, bringing the subject back around to her original topic.

Alice's voice was soft but very firm. "Before the Cullen's, I killed indiscriminately. I didn't know any better, I was simply following my instincts. I woke up in the dark, with no memory of who I was. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't even know my full name. Mary was my human life, where I had parents, and a sister named Cynthia. I went through something too, a crucible that changed me into who I am now. But that still took decades to form, I'm very different from the Alice that woke up that first day. She was an animal, a predator with fantastical images of a family that could never be. Once I figured out that my visions were real, it became a journey."

"You know when I first saw you in that cafeteria, and I saw that vision of you I thought that was it. I'd found my place in the world. I thought the wait was over, and I could finally live in the light again. Climb out of the darkness I'd been living in for what I've known of my life. Then you were gone. Just gone, and out of loyalty and love I stayed away. No matter how much I hate Edward for doing what he did, as much as I hate myself for it, the reason was true in the moment, even though it tore me apart."

Alice had been staring at a pine needle she had plucked from the ground, breaking it exactly in half, then those two pieces in half again, until all that was left was a small pile of little brown dots in the palm of her hand. She was waiting for Isabella to say something, but she wasn't quite brave enough to look up. So she continued after a few more seconds of silence.

"You know we're not children. Well… Bree sort of qualifies, but only because she really hasn't had the chance to really live. We know the risks of going up against the Volturi, considering their record, and..." Alice finally looked up to assess Isabella's reaction, and found herself staring into those pitch black eyes. It took a bit of inner resolve but she didn't turn away, instead she met Isabella alien glare with one of her own. "I told you, and I'm going to keep telling you and proving it to you. Nothing you can tell me will change it. Never again. I will never leave you. I don't care what happens."

Without preamble or statement, Isabella's free hand reached over in a blur. Alice flinched slightly, only to breathe a sigh of relief and excitement when Isabella slid that hand through the hair at the back of her head. Then Isabella's whole body lurched forward like a ghost in a scary movie, before mashing her lips into Alice's in a fiercely hungry kiss.

Alice let out a startled gasp that turned into a groan as Isabella pulled her half on top of her, an embrace Alice melted into as her lips meshed with Isabella's. Alice gave in to her long unrequited love, and forgot all the reasons why it was a bad idea to get that intimate.

Isabella didn't think she had any reservations, and let her lips move against Alice's for several long moments before her tongue followed suit, exploring Alice's lips and mouth, and didn't mind that she seemed to have no control against the hunger that was spurring her on.

Alice had never imagined being in this position, that Isabella would actually let her in enough to be intimate. So she start to shift her body sliding it fully on top of Isabella's, semi straddling Isabella's sitting form, her hands resting gently on Isabella's hips. Alice let out a sigh of pleasure as she pressed into the embrace, as she gently began to rub herself against Isabella. The sensations pouring through her seemed to get stronger each time they made even partial contact, and Alice wondered if she might burst into flame from the heat that seemed to be radiating from inside of her. Then she slipped her hands up and underneath the sides of Isabella's shirt to rest lightly on the skin along her ribcage just above the ridges of her incredibly toned stomach.

The reaction from Isabella was instantaneous. Blind terror grabbed her and took over, an extreme need to fight the… thing that touched her made her lash out, and she pushed against Alice with all her strength to get her as far away from her as possible. Alice flailed as she flew through the air helplessly, crashing into a tree several meters away. The moment Alice's body made impact, Isabella's sudden burst of terror broke and a need to protect took over.

Isabella was horrified that she had lashed out, that all her worst fears were in fact, true. She stopped in mid-step when she saw that Alice was already on her feet, dusting herself off.

"See, I'm not a delicate flower. No harm, no foul." Alice said, though her words trailed off as she saw the horrified expression on Isabella's face. She instantly blurred over the Isabella, and tentatively pulled her hands into hers. "I shouldn't have touched you like that. I'm sorry."

"You're apologizing?" Isabella shook her head in confusion. Trying to sort out her sudden reaction, and Alice's response was leaving her completely bewildered.

Alice looked down with obvious guilt. "Yeah, I know what you went though, and I got lost in the moment." Her voice was soft, and full of self-recrimination.

Isabella pulled her hands away, and turned around feeling a bit overwhelmed, before she walked several steps away to get some needed distance from Alice. She couldn't understand how Alice could be so calm about her lashing out like that? So she stood there breathing in and out deeply, while trying to ignore Alice's intoxicating scent of cinnamon and lilac's that seemed to permeate the air around her. It felt almost like she was swimming in a lake of warm honey, it was thick and sweet, and nearly impossible to keep a float in. She wasn't sure drowning in Alice's scent was a bad thing, but she couldn't let her passions get the better of her.

Alice let the fear cross her face when Isabella turned around, she wasn't about to let her know how much it frightened her when she went dark like that. The specter of that floating skeleton that rose from the ruins of her house was an indelible imprint on her mind. That was a kind of power that couldn't be ignored, and for the first time she honestly didn't know what Isabella was really capable of.

Isabella didn't know what to do. She knew where her own reaction came from when Alice touched her like that, it was the same instinctual fear she knew was tied to her time in the void. That decade in a hole, when the shadows had become a part of her. She knew it was irrational, but she couldn't help it. In a very real way her fear wasn't about hurting Alice, she was scared _of_ Alice.

Alice watched as Isabella stood stock still, her back rigid and tense. Minutes passed, and Isabella didn't speak at all. The only positive sign that Alice had of her was the fact that she hadn't moved since she turned away from her. Alice wasn't sure if she should act first, but she didn't have a lot of other options, except to wait.

Alice spoke softly, even though she couldn't entirely keep pleading nature of her question out of her voice. "Talk to me, please. I need to know what you're thinking. Did I cross a line?" She took a tentative step forward to close the gap between them, careful to make noise so that Isabella was very aware of where she was. She was glad her fear hadn't crept into her voice, the last thing she needed was Isabella thinking her show of rejection and violence had gotten to her.

Isabella opened her mouth more than once to tell Alice it was okay, that it wasn't her fault. Not that she could form the words to express the thought. She lowered her head and just wanted to run away, she could even feel her daughter's starting to push at their connections in worry. At least that she could address.

_**"I'm fine. I'll fill both of you in later."**_ Isabella's voice drifted across the ethereal tether like a pulse of knotted emotions, and although both Eliza and Bree wanted to respond, neither of them pushed back for answers. Somehow during the very brief distraction sending that message caused, Alice had somehow moved around her. She was standing a couple of feet in front of her, and was looking up into her face with a touch of hopeful expectation.

"See, all in one piece. What's wrong? Is it the touching thing, because honestly I mean to cross that line. Although come to think of it, I don't think I'll ever not want to touch you." Alice didn't expect much, and was careful to keep her voice playful and gentle.

Isabella's eyes were a brilliant red when instead of the terrible black they had shifted to when she pushed Alice away. She tiled her head to examine the smaller woman with a touch of uncertainty clearly written across her expression. Then she crossed her arms in front of her.

Alice watched Isabella's reaction, though most of her attention was on Isabella's eyes, she noticed when Isabella crossed her arms. Normally that would be a prelude to building anger, but in this case, she realized that it wasn't a building anger, it was the classic defensive posture. She couldn't quite put her finger on what Isabella was thinking or feeling, and her whole attitude was throwing her off.

When Isabella finally spoke again, her voice was very flat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to react like that." She looked Alice straight in the eyes, but she was definitely closed off.

Alice frowned, this wasn't going the way she wanted it to.

Isabella's jaw clenched several times in frustration, she hated feeling out of control like this. Even when her rage was at full steam, she had a measure of understanding. She could ride the wave of her frenzy, and direct it to cause the most destruction. This... this was different. A part of her felt an urge to lash out, to shout accusations at Alice, to show her exactly what was wrong.

The other part of her was desperate to let Alice be as familiar with her, as she was starting to be. Isabella wanted to be touched, to be able to accept those touches. She could see in Alice's eyes something heavy and pure, and a very big part of her wanted that more than anything, but she couldn't return the sentiment. She knew she felt something, but she couldn't define it. It was something elusive, something primal.

Isabella kept her voice her voice flat, but added a bit of cold indifference to it. It was clear that she was exerting every bit of control possible over her instinctual side. "It's nothing you did. Not… really."

Alice's expression didn't change. She could clearly tell Isabella wasn't being entirely forthcoming, but she was willing to let it pass if Isabella let her in a little bit farther.

Isabella tilted her head back, to look up at the sky, mostly to avoid any recriminations or disgust that appeared in Alice's face as she talked. "I just... when you touched me like that, it just reminded me... _She_ used to do that before she hurt me. Touch me gently, sometimes for seconds, sometimes for minutes, because she said the anticipation of the pain to come was almost worse than the pain itself."

Alice sucked in a breath, her eyes going wide as she made the connection. She almost let out a whimper for the pain Isabella was clearly reliving. She couldn't deny her own pain though, the idea of being someone who reminded Isabella of Victoria; someone who'd tortured Isabella in the most inhuman ways, was like a stab in the heart.

"Is it… just me who reminds you of her? Or do the others remind you of her too?" Alice tried to keep the hurt out of her own voice when she replied quietly, and was entirely unsuccessful; but she had to ask the question.

Isabella managed a ghost of a smile, "No, it's not like any of you have flaming red hair and a smile so smug and self-satisfying that you just want to rip it off." She let a touch of her true anger towards Victoria peek out, and she quickly bottled it back up, but the viciousness in her voice was never meant for anyone but the bitch.

Alice shook her head slightly, "That's not what I meant. I meant any of the other people you've been with?"

Isabella frowned at that, looking down into Alice's eyes, confusion crossing her face. "Sometimes some of the vampires I've fought remind me of her. Not for long though..."

Alice took a breath deeply, clearly Isabella didn't understand the question, but it was one she needed an answer. "I don't mean people you fight. I mean any, _partners_, you've had."

Isabella frowned a little bit. "I was pretty much a loner, and since I found Eliza on my first real mission, I've only really had her as a partner."

Alice blinked at that, shock riding freely on her face, "You and Eliza? But, I thought… you were mother and daughter? Not… partners?" Alice's eyes were wide in disbelief and a touch of indignation. She was starting to question if her entire understanding of their relationship was skewed.

Isabella looked at Alice totally befuddled. "We've been partners pretty much since she came into my life. Yeah I know it's weird taking her into dangerous situations, but she really can handle herself, and I trust her implicitly. I taught her to fight, and despite her occasional flightiness, she can be serious when she needs to be. There's no one out there that I trust more to watch my back in a fight. I'm not throwing her into dangerous situations for the hell of it. I'm not _that_ bad of a parent. I'm not sure she'd let me leave her behind anyway, and she never reminds me of Victoria if that's what you're asking."

Alice blinked several times and then bit her lip tightly for a moment, if this were any less serious of a conversation, she would be howling in helpless laughter on the ground at the nearly slapstick level of miscommunication going on. Instead she shook her head firmly. "No… that's not what I meant. I didn't mean partners in the sense of combat, I meant have you ever felt that way with your... um… lovers?"

Isabella blinked in surprise, and gave Alice embarrassed look. She hadn't understood the question Alice had been tip-toeing around, and because it caught her completely off guard, she blurted out a reply before she put any more thought into it. "There haven't been any." Isabella blanched as soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth. She was so mortified that she flinched and turn away from Alice, so she didn't have see her reaction.

"Oh." Was the only thing that came to Alice's mind. She regretted the response immediately. That idea hadn't even occurred to her given Isabella's beauty.

The idea of Isabella not taking any partners after so many years was such a bizarre concept to wrap her head around, that Alice had to take a moment to compose herself. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. For the first time since they had reconnected, Alice could see a glimpse of the shy and sweet girl she had once known. Somehow a part of the Bella that she had once known and loved still survived. It was something, a small something. A piece of the Bella she knew she would never get back.

Alice also understood the implications of what she'd just been told, and knew how vulnerable and weak Isabella must've been feeling after admitting something like that. If touching has been such a problem for her that she never relented to physical desire meant that for Isabella to initiate such an embrace, and to do so multiple times, told Alice just how much Isabella felt for her. It gave her a new appreciation for Isabella strength of mind. No one can escape that level of torture and abuse without scars, and the fact that she was able to be so calm when confronted with something so intimate, that was connected so directly to that meant there was a chance for her to heal after all.

Alice thought about it for a moment, then an idea occurred to her that might work to bring Isabella to a level of intimacy that would allow her to retain a measure of control over the situation.

"Isabella, would… you be willing to try something with me?" Alice asked, her voice gentle and reassuring. She wasn't sure if her plan would help or hurt things, but she was going to try anything she could to reach Isabella.

Isabella slowly turned her head back to look at Alice, and was surprised when she didn't see anger, or hurt, or disgust on Alice's face. Instead she just saw caring and concern. So she nodded slowly, wariness and caution twisting her face into a slight scowl.

Alice reached out and gently laid her fingers on Isabella's arm, keeping her eyes on Isabella's expression the entire time, and then she slowly guided them both to the nearest tree. Alice slowly backed up until she felt the bark of the tree trunk, and then stopped Isabella when she was a foot away from her. Isabella looked at her with a puzzled expression, but made no move to stop or step away.

Alice didn't say anything, instead she lifted Isabella's left hand and moved it so that her palm was resting on Alice's right wrist, then she gently forced Isabella fingers to wrap around that wrist so that she had a firm, but gentle grip. Then Alice moved her right hand and rested it lightly on Isabella's left hip, where it had been before she'd slipped it upwards when they were kissing before.

Alice's didn't break eye contact as she slid her left hand down to lift Isabella's right hand upward, and slowly wrapped Isabella's fingers around her own throat, squeezing gently, until Isabella, somewhat reluctantly let her hand rest at Alice's throat without letting it fall. The confused expression on Isabella's face only increased as Alice then took her free left hand and slid it back through her own hair and pressed the hand between the back of her head and the tree truck.

Isabella's expression shifted to complete befuddlement as Alice looked up at her. Alice's voice was soft when she spoke. "May I touch you like I did before?"

Isabella blinked several times as it struck her just what Alice had done. She had put herself in an utterly vulnerable position. Not only could she stop any touch with ease, she could incapacitate or even dismember Alice with a minimum of effort. Alice had put her in absolute control of their embrace by putting herself in a completely vulnerable position, and Alice for her part didn't seem frightened in the least. Isabella hesitated a moment and then slowly nodded her assent.

Alice's eyes remained fixed on Isabella's as her hand once more slipped slowly up under her shirt again, to very slowly brush along Isabella's side.

Isabella closed her eyes, as she worked to quell the storm of emotions inside of herself. Alice's touch seemed to be provoking two different emotions. That same fear was welling up inside of her again; it was the urge to run, to get away from the touch because it was going to hurt her. It felt like any moment now the touch was going to shift, and she was going to feel the snap as a bone was broken. At the same time Alice's touch seemed to be combatting those same urges. That strange calmness seemed to be radiating from where their skin came in contact. It undeniably helped as she fought to get her instinctive urges under control.

Alice felt the hands on both her neck and wrist tense several times, but Isabella only went so far as to actually squeeze Alice's wrist once. Alice immediately halted her touch every time Isabella flinched, until she nodded to continue. Then Alice continued to explore her stomach and ribcage under the shirt, inch by inch.

They stayed that way for several minutes, Alice just caressing Isabella's belly, and Isabella adjusting to the touch. Isabella had slowly began to calm her fears, and had lost most, though not all, of her tension when Alice spoke again quietly, "May I use my other hand?"

Isabella opened her eyes to look at Alice briefly before closing them, tensing up as if bracing herself again. If Alice used her other hand, she wasn't in such a vulnerable position. Intellectually Isabella understood she was still safe and in control, but she still was slow to overcome the reluctance she felt. After some time that dragged on for minutes, in which she was grateful Alice didn't push, Isabella nodded wordlessly. She closed her eyes again, clearly bracing herself.

Alice slipped her hand gently from behind her head to reach forward. She saw Isabella's eyes flutter open in surprise as her fingers lightly brushed back and forth along Isabella's cheek. Clearly it wasn't the touch that Isabella expected, but after her surprise passed, it was also clear that it wasn't unwelcome.

Alice watched her tense slightly at the simple contact, and then smile shyly. It took all of Alice's self-control not to let out a whoop of joy when she saw Isabella close her eyes again. Then she slowly, and tentatively turned her head to nuzzle Alice's hand, coaxing her to caress her cheek. The two of them remained like that for several more minutes before Alice spoke up again. "May I kiss you?"

This time Isabella opened her eyes to stare into Alice's, and her response was almost immediate, her voice very small yet heavy with emotion. "Yes, please."

Alice smiled and leaned forward slightly, making no attempt to move her hand from beneath Isabella's shirt, nor any move to remove Isabella's hand from her neck or wrist. She stood on her toes slightly to overcome the difference in height, and the slight awkwardness of Isabella's arm pressed between them. Then Alice pressed her lips very gently to Isabella's.

Isabella let out a little sigh of pleasure as her lips met Alice's in a kiss that was utterly gentle. It was the first tender kiss for the two of them; and for both of them it was an entirely different sensation. It wasn't better or worse than their earlier kisses, but it was far less frantic, and less urgent and yet it almost felt deeper.

The first Alice became aware of a change was when she felt Isabella's hand dropped from her throat, then a second later she felt Isabella's hand let go of her wrist so that she could move it around her to the small of her back. In the next instant Isabella pulled Alice gently closer, so that there was nary an inch left between their bodies. Their kiss didn't change though, it didn't become urgent or demanding, it remained slow and gentle.

Isabella felt like she was floating as she kissed Alice. It was different than anything she'd experienced before, and it made her pull Alice in even closer so that there was nothing left between them. She practically sighed into the kiss, feeling Alice pressed into her like that. They seemed to fit together perfectly.

Isabella realized in that moment, that for the first time in a long time that she felt utterly at peace and even more… somehow… for this brief moment she felt whole.

When they finally parted lips, Alice looked up and a shy smile broke across her face. Then her smile grew wider when she found that Isabella's eyes weren't pure black like they usually were after one of their kisses. Alice wasn't sure what that meant, but she took it as a positive sign. She traced every bit of Isabella's face with her eyes, while Isabella seemed to do the same to her. Then Isabella seemed to shift against her slightly as her hands traced up and down her hips.

Alice found herself lost in Isabella's eyes and all of a sudden felt a an uncontrollable urge to express her deepest and most desperate truth, and without conscious control her mouth began to move around the words that were irrevocable.

"I love you." The gentle lilting of Alice's voice couldn't been more unexpected. Even Alice didn't quite know how to absorb her own declaration.

They stood unmoving, Isabella body slowly turning rigid when it had been but a second before melting so easily against Alice's. After a moment she was as hard and unyielding as stone, for all intents and purposes she was a statue.

Alice ran her eyes over Isabella's unmoving face a few times before she was able to put her thoughts into words, but when she did she kept her voice clear and strong. She met Isabella's gaze with pride as she started, "I'm not going to apologize, because I've wanted to say that for the longest time, and I'm not saying it to the girl I knew as Bella, I'm saying it to you... Isabella. My dark angel. I know you need time, and I'm not going to force you into anything. I've spent so many years regretting not saying the things that I wanted. I'm not trying to scare you off, and I'm not asking to reciprocate, because I know that's hard for you still... but… I love you, and I will happily spend eternity with you proving that I will never leave your side, no matter what comes at us. That's what I couldn't say before, that's what I meant by 'never again'."

Seconds ticked by, and Isabella remained stock still and unmoving, yet made no attempt to move away. Alice searched her face for any signs of acknowledgement or reaction, but her face was frozen into an expressionless mask. She didn't quite know what to do, pleading and crying wasn't going to do a thing... and she couldn't take it back even if she wanted to. She had finally said the thing she had needed to say since the first moment she laid eyes on Isabella all those years ago. There was no turning back.

Isabella was locked in her own struggle, years of anger and pain, warring with the other feelings that she still wasn't used to sorting out inside herself, and yet the one thing that kept going through her mind was no... no it wasn't possible that Alice could love her, not when she was such a monster. A monster drenched so deeply in red that it had forgotten what it once was, it's tattered soul painted black. A monster born in a darkness at the edge of a yawning abyss, the void from which nightmares clawed and scrapped their way into dreams. Love... it was an impossible thing. A concept that died when she was human, a faint candle flame snuffed out by shadow.

Yet her need was undeniable. She had to have Alice, and Alice wanted her. The wall was down, and there was nothing to stop her from claiming what she desired. Alice was telling her that she wanted her forever. Her instincts were screaming at her to claim her and take her. To proclaim to one and all that Alice was hers.

Her _mate._

She thought about pushing against Alice. Forcing her to understand her need for her, giving her a chance to back out, but the look in Alice's eyes told her that it was pointless. Even if it wasn't love, even if it was... there had to be something. Alice represented a future she never thought was remotely possible. That the candle could be relit, that something resembling love could come back and wash her soul clean. She wanted to push away from it, to run and keep that future as far away as possible.

Isabella twitched, the first motion she had made since Alice's declaration. It was her body reacting to the impulses moving through her. Half of her wanted to flee, and the other half wanted to take what Alice was offering. She couldn't run. Inside of her the emotions were crashing. Thoughts that she had not entertained in years. Is this what love felt like? Isabella had to have her as part of her life. She had to feel like she was a part of her, and there was only one way for that to happen.

_**"Mom... what are you doing?!"**_ Eliza's voice screamed through the connection. Isabella was too far gone to hear her as anything more than a buzzing sound, as she bit into Alice's neck and let her venom go. Alice screamed, half in agony and half in ecstasy as they collapsed the forest floor in each other's arms.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

**Author's notes-**

**1) *grins* I hope you all liked this chapter. Needless to say. BELLICE! Yay!**

**2) Holy CRAP alot of you liked (and were blown away) by the revelation of Charlie and Angela. We got a TON of reviews from that chapter. All thanks on that go to Samantha Minuet. Everything from the plot, to the timing and execution on that revelation is ALL HER. She's awesome like that. She also deserves my massive thanks as she and i argue and bicker and hammer out these characters so they stay true to what we've written. (seriously. On the day we posted this chapter we argued for almost 2 hours about ONE LINE of dialogue.) Her patience is saintly. She's not once threatened to STAB me to death with a with a rusty half inch nail.**

**3) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Rambling Commentary: So yeah, we just did that. I have to say I don't think either of us intended on bringing Alice into the family when we started writing this chapter. In fact this wasn't even the chapter we were going to write for 42. Yet it feels right, it is the natural reactions of the characters. I hope all of you agree. So until next time... I hope to read a ton of reviews like your massively wonderful reaction to chapter 41.**

**4) Samantha is totes right. We didn't intend to put this chapter here, we intended it to be the next one. However it fit better here. Even then we planned for their relationship to become official. For them to end up a real couple. We very much DIDN'T expect to end up having Isabella bite her when we started this. However we went with the characters. And it felt right. **

**A couple of notes on that- Bella DOES feel for Alice. However her admitting love is still something she has to come to terms with. She IS still messed up in the head remember? **

**A****lso for those of you who are worried about the part about Isabella claiming Alice. please remember she's had these instinctive urges she's been dealing with to claim her mate. It's not sudden. Given all the upheaval and turmoil her self-control snapped.**

**Samantha put it best to me. When they come together there isn't going to be any angst or questioning the relationship between them. The two of them are going to be like a force of nature. One of those relationships that just IS. **

**5) Sharp-eyed Shout Out- Our thanks go to muhahahaha666. Who has been taking the time to go back and review every chapter, and even caught an error in one of our earlier chapters. Thank you very much.**

**Second shout out goes to peanutbutter679 for commenting on the visual reference i have for Mei in my profile thank you!  
**

**6) All those who've been clamoring for Bellice. Let us know how you think we did this chapter! We're eager to hear!**

**Read and review!**


	43. Need

**Chapter 43**

_I didn't know that it was so cold  
And you needed someone  
to show you the way  
So I took your hand and we figured out  
That when the time comes  
I'd take you away_

_If you want to_  
_I can save you_  
_I can take you away from here_  
_So lonely inside_  
_So busy out there_  
_And all you wanted_  
_was somebody who cares_

_I'm sinking slowly_  
_So hurry hold me_  
_Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on_  
_Please can you tell me_  
_So I can finally see_  
_Where you go when you're gone_

Rays of sunshine beat down on face, making me feel flush. A cool hard hand wrapped tightly in mine, as I laid in the sunlight feeling free. A gentle breeze made my skin turn gooseflesh, as I took in the scents of the field. I did enjoy these moments. Summer would soon be over and school would start soon. My injuries had finally healed though, and this time in the outdoors was perfect. Edward and I came out here regularly, where I could really just enjoy the world and the openness.

The scent of the trees and the flowers in the fields, the cool air that foretold of the seemingly ever present threat of rain. The occasional sound of a bird in the air. I could just get lost in it. More and more that was becoming necessary for me, on these blissful excursions. The truth of my reality was becoming more and more frustrating, and I didn't want to open my eyes, I wanted to linger in this bliss for eternity.

It was an escape from the rising bitterness inside me. All he had to do was bite me, and that wish for eternity could become a reality. Except he was never going to, he'd said so on numerous occasions. I'd spent months trying to convince him, but he kept refusing me, his immovable and implacable insistence that I stay human was grating at best, demeaning at worst. His family didn't even know, it was like a big secret that he refused to let me tell.

At times he almost seemed to enjoy the time I spent arguing and pleading with him, but always came back to it being for my own good. Every time the subject came up he put up a wall that was insurmountable, leaving me with no options except to just be, which seemed to be all he wanted from me. I felt the cool hand squeeze mine and a frown crossed my face. I didn't want to be pulled away yet. I wasn't ready to open my eyes. I wasn't ready for another futile argument. I wasn't ready to deal with his patronizing tone quite yet.

"I'm not him." The soft sweet voice carried over to me like a whisper on the wind, and my eyes shot open.

Laying in the grass beside me was Alice Cullen, not Edward. My mouth fell open, and I giggled in spite of myself.

"Alice, you're here." I said, and immediately felt stupid for saying something so obvious. Odd flashes of memories were beginning to intrude on my thoughts, and I couldn't keep some of the confusion off my face.

"This is how it should've been. This was our moment, our fate. He took this away from us. It should have happened this way." Alice said quietly, looking around the area as she sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Seeing my confusion she gestured at me with an expression of such sadness that I wanted to hug her just seeing it. "It should have been me and you. I should have been the one with you. I should have been the one protecting you. He ruined it all, and I let him." Her voice was bitter, and mocking.

I couldn't stand to see her so angry with herself and I moved over to embrace her in a hug, only to find her abruptly gone.

The scene seemed to shift slightly. Trees that before had been blossoming in the fullness of summer, now were bare and showing the first true signs of spring, as leaves were just sprouting, much like they looked like now. My full memories all came back in a rush and I shook my head slightly, looking around.

"Look, just over there." Alice said wistfully, her voice sounded hollow and very distant. I couldn't see her anywhere. I was alone. I turned around in a circle, looking for the thing Alice had directed me to see. Then Bree came out of the shadows of the forest. Her eyes looking around with a nervous energy.

"Bree?" I asked feeling confused. She was my daughter, and I wasn't even remotely human anymore. I flinched as a jolt hit my stomach like someone had knocked the wind out of me. She looked up and smiled widely, before running into the field. I smiled back at her, but she ran past me. I turned, and saw her moving towards a male figure lurking at the edge of the clearing on the opposite side from which she entered it.

Then she stopped short, a frown turning down her face in a grimace. "Seth?" She asked clearly confused. Then the man stepped from the shadows, and I let out a snarl of hatred. His copper hair was glossy reflecting the still bright sunlight along with his multifaceted skin, his amber eyes examined Bree severely . Then he smiled with such malicious smugness that I wanted to rip his smile right off.

"Not even remotely." He said sarcastically, a millisecond before he launched himself at Bree before she could gather her senses to react. In the next instant her head came off her body, along with a spray of milky white red. For a long second I looked at my murdered daughter's body in horror, then I screamed with an unleashed rage that I couldn't even begin to contain. When a hand wrapped itself in mine, keeping me from moving.

"She isn't gone. This is just a vision." Alice's voice was soothing, and somehow calmed me down even though I wanted nothing more than to destroy. I didn't need to turn to know she was once again beside me standing there as real and corporeal as I was. Then her words sunk in, and the rage that threatened to engulf me subsided, for the moment.

"A vision? This is going to happen?" I asked, unable to keep the growl out of my voice as I turned to face her. She was staring at Bree's corpse with an odd expression.

She hesitated a moment before responding. "As you well know, my visions are subjective, changing depending on the decisions we make. If the shadows of these events remain unchanged, she will die. Not that we're going to let that happen. "

I opened my mouth to reply before Alice cut me off gently but firmly. "We're not done."

The scene seemed to blur and shift again. The scents and sounds of the outside world faded away.

In its place, I could faintly hear the sounds of romantic lyrics buzzing away on the television across the room. The cheering tones of the old musical drifted through my thoughts like a half remembered dream. I remembered imagining the actors were singing to me, telling me that my romance with Edward was exactly what I wanted. Except something deep inside me knew they were lying even then.

"Not here, we can't get lost in the past." Alice said from beside me, her voice filled with a touch of worry and I thought I could hear the faintest twinges of embarrassment. However, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene in front of me.

In front of me was... me. The way I used to be when I was human.

My head was resting in her lap, and she was stroking my hair. We were on the couch I'd spent many evenings on, occasionally watching some sporting event with Charlie, or pretending to while I really had my nose in a book. Except this was a different time, when he'd gone away on a fishing trip. When Edward had gone hunting with Emmett and Jasper, and Alice came to keep me company.

"Alice?" I was lost again, I knew I shouldn't be in the past. I couldn't be here, not anymore. That girl was gone, Bella Swan. Clumsy and awkward. Stupid and reckless. I invested my love and trust in a man who threw it away at the first sign of a true obstacle, leaving me vulnerable to _her_.

"Victoria isn't here." Alice's voice was still far away though it was gentle and soothing as it drifted through my consciousness, as if she were whispering to me from across a giant field while at the same time her hand gave mine a gentle squeeze. The name did strike deeply into my heart though. Victoria, my forever tormenter.

I watched as this... other me laughed a little bit at something she was seeing on the television. Alice's hand stroked through her hair. I could almost feel those same touches in my own hair as I stood there, involuntarily watching this vague human memory.

The _other_ me, the human one, turned in Alice's lap, so she was laying on her stomach across Alice's lap, with her head toward the television. When she shifted, the Alice that was on the couch with her shifted her fingers, pulling them through her hair and then rested them gently on my former self's neck, beginning a gentle massage of the muscle there.

"Mmm. I'm going to give you the rest of the night to stop doing that." The Bella on the couch murmured quietly, clearly enjoying the touch, though she said it drowsily since she was clearly on the edge of sleep.

Even as I watched it, I could hardly believe it. I wasn't sure if I ever remembered my voice sounding so... weak... so soft... so _content._

Alice smiled letting her fingers move over the other Bella's skin slowly, continuing a gentle massage. "The rest of the night before I have to stop? Such time constraints! Whatever will I do?" Alice bantered playfully.

"Well, unlike some of us, I have to sleep or I become grouchy." Bella replied.

I could hear the bitterness in my own voice, and I remembered clearly feeling it. The anger and resentment at Edward's continued refusal to turn me. What I hadn't seen at the time this memory happened was the expression on Alice's face. The memory me was turned away, so I had had no chance of seeing it. If I had things might've been different, because there was no way I could've ever forgotten the look that crossed Alice's face. The anger and frustration, the pain and hurt... it was heartbreaking. If I had glimpsed it I would asked, and she would've shrugged it away.

"You would've persisted. You would've gotten it out of me, because I could hardly resist you as it was." The Alice standing beside me, who I hadn't noticed until that moment gave me a lingering smile, one that told me everything. She had been in love with me even then.

"I don't mind you grouchy. Besides, you can always fall asleep right here, doesn't mean I have to stop if you don't want me to." Memory Alice half stated, half offered quietly.

I squeezed my Alice's hand, as she tensed up beside me. Reliving this memory must be hard for her too. It wasn't hard to guess why. If I hadn't been so blinded then to my false love for Edward, then I might have absorbed Alice's tone of voice, which would've also alerted me to her feelings. Once again I was reminded to how much Edward had blinded me to my own empathy, and the little things around me.

"Mmm. Only if you let me do the same sometime." Memory Bella half heartedly bargained.

I couldn't help the soft snort that escaped me. How naive I'd been. Human strength wasn't enough to do much of anything to the hardened muscles of a vampire.

I could tell the humor inherent in that naivety didn't escape memory Alice's notice either. She chuckled softly as her hands drifted along memory' Bella's shoulders. "Deal, the next time I'm asleep you can do the same to me."

I listened to my memory self whine in protest.

I'll… mmm… that's not fair. There's not much I could offer is there?" Bella half pouted.

My god, I wondered if I had suddenly turned into a 10 year old. To whine and pout like that, my partial disgust was forgotten at the brief expression that crossed memory Alice's face, she seemed a touch hurt by my pouting. I looked over at my Alice, and her bemused expression told me what I needed to know. Even a little bit of hurt, any refusal she made to me was enough to cause her pain then, because she was unable to be the thing she needed to be for me.

"You'd be surprised." I watched memory Alice say under her breath, though louder than she intended.

"Hmmm?" My memory self asked in reply, having heard the comment, which dragged her slightly out of her downward plunge toward sleep.

Memory Alice laughed a little bit. "You don't have to offer me anything. Go on to sleep so you don't get grouchy and cranky, that last thing we need is for you to throw me out for not letting you get your rest."

Memory Bella nodded slightly, barely cognizant at this point. "Mm.. I wouldn' do tha…You know I love you Alice." Anything further than a mumble was impossible as the memory me drifted off to sleep.

The memory Alice froze in shock, and the expression on her face was almost impossible to look at it was so twisted with longing. Then I watched as she leaned forward, and pressed a very light kiss to the middle of my other self's forehead. It was a strain to hear what she said next, but I was able to just make out the words.

"I love you too Bella Swan. More than you'll ever know." Her voice was low and intimate, tinged with an almost infinite sadness, and then she returned to stroking her hair lightly.

I turned to look at the Alice holding my hand, though her gaze was fixed on the scene in front of us. When she spoke her voice was full of emotion and was nearly as soft as Memory Alice's had been. "This was the first time."

My eyes didn't leave Alice. "The first time?" I asked quietly.

She turned to look at me, her eyes latching onto mine intensely, "The first time I ever heard you say that you loved me."

I frowned at that, regarding her. "Alice... I-"

She shook her head quickly and gave me a very sad smile. "No. I know what you intended to mean when you said it. Like a best friend. Like a sister. I understand that. Even then I understood that. But... after so many years when all you have is memory. Some become very very precious to you. This is one of mine. One of my most cherished memories."

"I don't understand, why? They were only words." I said feeling confused and overwhelmed.

"Because words were all I had." The real Alice's hand tightened around mine as she squeezed it for a moment in reassurance. I was at a loss for words. Her voice drifted very softly through me. "Come, let's move on from this memory."

The scene blurred and went dark again. I waited to see what was next... but nothing seemed to come. It just remained black. I tried to turn my head to look around and see if I was missing something, only to discover, to my horror, that I couldn't move.

No... no... no... I couldn't be here again. Oh god, anything but this.

Was this really a memory... or had I never left? I screamed, and struggled, and wept. The darkness was absolute, and my mind was splintered. How long had I been down here, how long had I been in that mockery of a life. I couldn't believe where my imagination had gone. Returning to Forks, with a daughter? Living with the Volturi. I was a sad, stupid little girl. I'd never escaped my own mind, let alone the hole I'd been buried in.

The panic inside me was building quickly to a crescendo, and my fury was matching it, but inside that terror was winning. I had imagined everything. It had all been my feverish dreams.

I was alone.

"Never again. I'll never leave you." The echo came from all sides, her voice a memory of an impossible dream, I knew I was still imprisoned in a place with no light and no escape. All that other life was just a lie.

"No not a dream, not a lie. This isn't your world Isabella, not anymore. I'm here, we all are." Alice's determined voice came to me again, taunting me with the delusion.

"Mom, don't go. We need you." Eliza insistent yet pleading tone felt distant, unlike Alice's voice which sounded as if she were standing next to me. The other difference was more subtle, where Eliza seemed almost desperate to get through to me. Alice seemed firm, confidant, almost implacable. It was clear that Alice was simply stating a fact rather than trying to prevent me from sinking into my own despair.

Not that it mattered, because I could only hear them, which meant they were all just hallucinations,. Which also meant they weren't real. I began to twist and flex against everything that held me immobile in this hole as my panic continued to rise.

"Isabella... no!" Alice screamed at me, as I broke the rock surrounding me so that I could bring my hands up around my ears. Then I shut my eyes, even though I was still surrounded by that same unrelenting and suffocating darkness.

Then the world shifted again. This time I felt it, because I refused to open my eyes to the illusion, but I couldn't help but sigh when I suddenly felt softness along my back.

My head was resting in her lap again. I was back in my day-dream. Only this time, instead of viewing it from outside myself, I was actually cradled in Alice's lap. We were laying on the old beaten up couch my father always insisted was perfectly good, complete with beer stains, and the slight scent of moss and mold. I knew exactly where I was before even opening my eyes. It was nice here, so I risked my sanity to look up into her amber eyes. I figured If I had to spend eternity in a memory... why not make it a good one?

"You know we've already seen this one. We could do something else if you want." Her voice sounded ethereal again, and a little amused, so in contentment I closed my eyes lazily, again lost in the dream. I was human, and happy. This was where I wanted to be. Couldn't I be here, instead of in the darkness and pain of my forever prison?

"This isn't real sweetie." Alice said, as she continued to stroke my hair. I opened my eyes to peer up at her again, but instead of Alice's gentle countenance and kind eyes, I found malicious smirk and a pair of hateful crimson eyes.

Victoria's malevolent glare burrowed into me as she laughed slightly, her laughter mocking my fear, as I jumped out of her lap. I backed up into a corner away from her, which just made her laugh even louder.

"That's the spirit, runaway little mouse. Poor, poor fragile little Bella Swan. Such a miserable inappropriate name for you, Bella... ha! You are about as beautiful as a dung beetle crawling out of the shit it loves to eat, which doesn't mean you're an ugly duckling either. No, you're never going to grow up into a Swan, you're going to be forever ugly, and alone. In fact, on that note I have I have some presents for you, they'll cheer you right up. Something for you to think about when I stick you back in that hole in the ground." She moved over to me in the blink of an eye, and yanked me up roughly by my hair. I tried to fight her, but I was weak again. Human.

Not that she even noticed me struggling against her. She merely lifted me off the ground by my hair as I flailed at her uselessly, cursing my own weakness. Then she dragged me outside, letting lose her horrible mocking cackle of a laugh the entire way. I continued beat on her hand in a pointless attempt to escape for several more seconds before I could absorb what her 'gifts' were. Immediately I stopped struggling as I took it all in, unable to really comprehend the sight before me. Spread out on the lawn were the still bodies of everyone I'd ever known. She let go of me, and I fell to my knees, a sharp sob wracking my body in inconsolable grief.

My eyes moved from body to body. They were strewn across the lawn like some kind of macabre art instillation, reminding me of the wall of souls leading down into hell. My eyes flicked from person to person, and found that no one had escaped her wrath. My gaze shifted over the lifelessness that was my mother and father's faces.

Then my high-school friends. Then the Cullens, before settling on Alice's face. Then I noticed two more bodies next to hers that simply couldn't be. Eliza was lined up to Alice's right, and Bree was next to Eliza. What really made it worse was although all they were still as the grave, their eyes were open and they were all focused on me, accusations etched forever on their faces frozen by death. I slumped, as if all my muscles had gone slack unable to process the scene in front of me.

Somewhere deep inside of me something awoke, something strong and primal. A brutal rage surged up from that place inside, and suddenly my anger, my rage, my pain, my hope all settled back into place. Together they demanded release, and they would _not_ be denied! I wasn't weak! I hadn't been weak in almost a century. All this was fantasy, all this was false. Either I was in the void of my eternal prison, or this was all a dream. Either way she wasn't here, she had no power in this place.

As that knowledge surged through me, the bodies which had just been so real and impossible, started to fade. Little by little, amidst her terrible laughter, the corpses of my friends and family became more and more insubstantial. After another second, I stood up. Her laughter died as I turned to face the red-headed bitch, and let loose one carefully aimed slash at her face, taking away most of it with one strike. She didn't even have a chance to scream. I turned over the clump of rock in my hand, her face was perfectly preserved, like I'd just broke off the face of a statue, her dead lips caught in the middle of an expression I wasn't sure I could identify.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX**

"No!" She was gone, Isabella had turned away from me, and I was alone. I'd failed her, and let her believe she was living in that nightmare again. Then I blinked, and when my eyes opened a split second later I found that the world had shifted around me, and I was in the council chamber of Volterra, staring at the dais where Aro, Marcus, and Caius reigned from.

A darkly cloaked woman was standing before the Volturi council with a blank expression on her face. It took me only a brief moment to recognize her as Bella. She didn't look anything like the girl I'd once known. Caius sneered at her, and Aro stood with a somber look on his face.

"I fear my brother is right. You've gone too far this time." Aro turned and picked up a large bundle of explosives, with a timer plugged into the top of it, which he then tossed to Isabella, who just caught it impassively. There were only few seconds left on the timer, which began to count down far too quickly.

I wanted to scream out, to rush in and pull the bomb out of her hands, to get it as far away from her as possible, but someone stopped me. A firm hand clamped onto my shoulder and kept me rooted in place. I wanted to turn to see who would dare stop me, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from Isabella's imminent death.

In horror I watched Isabella look down at the explosive impassively. No regret or fear crossed her face, even as the timer clicked down to zero. Actually, there was a brief flicker of emotion that crossed her stony features, it was heartbreaking to take it in, because it could only be described as relief. That infinitesimally short micro expression flickered through her right before the bomb exploded Isabella's face.

When the smoke cleared all I could see was her charred skeleton, before it collapsed into a pile of dust. An echo of my voice screamed into the hallow chamber, and I could do nothing but sink to my knees in utter desolation. Yet, even as I tried to sink to the ground, that firm hand kept me on my feet.

"Well that's not even close to what happened." Eliza's voice broke through the buzzing ringing in my overloaded ears. I was finally able to turn my head, and found that she was the one that had been holding me up. Her face twisted in a puzzled expression.

"See, that's just silly. Hell, that's practically Roadrunner/Wily E. Coyote silly. 'Here, hold this ticking bomb for me would you?' Did you come up with this?" Her voice was actually seemed amused by what we had just witnessed.

I blinked at her, confused by her obvious indifference to the horrible reminder of Isabella's near death experience. .

She looked around thoughtfully. "Alice, I mean welcome to the family and all, but wow this whole thing is really messed up. Mom is convinced she's back in the hole, and here you are living your own kind of nightmare. Usually we just see and experience each other's memories. Though I'll admit we've had a very small sample size to work with up until this point." Eliza sounded curious as she turned that over in her head, although her slightly amused and puzzled expression was quickly turning into something with far less humor in it.

"I'll be okay. We have to get her out of her nightmare" I said feeling stupid for believing in my own nightmare.

Eliza sighed a little bit "I can't. She's pushed me away. It may be something she has to face again alone... though I was hoping you could do something. Bree's still trying though, without much luck. Although I think she's still messed up about that little vision you shared with us."

Eliza looked around and shook her head. "This is so different from what we're used to. Not just memories, but visions and nightmares too... I don't quite understand."

"Sorry? What do I do? This is kind of new for me, since I have no memories of dreaming, because my human life is a blank." I asked, but before she could answer she suddenly vanished. I stared blankly at the empty space she was just standing in. "Shit. So this is what it's like to dream. I guess I'm not missing much."

I sighed as the world shifted around me again. I lowered my gaze to the ground and let myself drift into a daze, I was growing tired of these mind games. I wasn't aware of time, but it felt like in the next second when an unfamiliar yet elusively familiar light masculine voice startled me back to the focus.

"Dreams were where you lived for a very long time." I looked around, and found myself in a small ten by twelve room with walls covered in off white canvas, tufted like some Rococo style headboard. It was obvious, I was in a padded room. This was before, this was when... no that's impossible.

I felt myself blanch, but I refused to give into the instinctive terror that rose inside me, as my eyes fell upon the source of the voice.

"Mary, you know your dreams of this Bella aren't doing you any good." I looked at him in confusion, before I realized I could feel my heart racing. I looked down, and found myself in a simple white cotton dress. The small amount of flesh of my hands and bare feet were unfamiliar, since they weren't deathly pale. My nails weren't perfectly manicured and clear, and my cuticles were rough and torn. I couldn't believe it, I was _human!_

This... was where I woke up all those years ago, in this room. It was the site of my first memory, not that in my newborn haze it was all that clear, but this man escaped me. Never once in all my years had I been able to recall a single face from my human life. So either this was a figment of my imagination, or this was a memory that pre-dated my time as a vampire.

"Where am I?" I asked with even more confusion.

"In the same place you've been for the past two years, Pearl River Sanitarium. You've been here since your father committed you. I'm Doctor West, and I need you to try and remember for me. Can you remember?" He looked at me with clear concern, but his tone seemed slightly patronizing. Still I complied, and searched my memories for any trace of him or this place he seemed to think I'd been living in for years.

Like I'd broken a latch to the floodgates of my memories everything came rushing in like a flood. My mother, my father, my sister. My step-mother? My mother's death, the dream of her crying out for help, the warning I gave to her about the car, the realization that my father was... a murderer. That he killed my mother, wait that couldn't be right.

No, he... and my step-mother did it together. Then they put me away so I wouldn't talk. Then came Doctor West and his shock treatments... then I was Alice. Just Alice. Except nothing was in order, and every time I looked for something I got a jumble of images, scenes, things that didn't make sense. It all started when I told that farmer that he should be careful or he would break his leg slipping down a river bank. I warned him about it... why did he blame it on me? Why did he claim I was in league with the devil?

When I told my mother she was going to get a nasty burn trying to cook that dish she wanted to try, she turned on me too. Wait that was my step-mother, and she had always been mean to me. My real mother fought against the farmer, fought for me. It was my father that had agreed with everything that farmer said.

Then he sent me... here, abandoned me... no I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't abandon her, not when I knew the pain it caused. Except they turned me into a walking vegetable, so I couldn't remember the betrayal. Doctor West, and his invasive and useless procedures... I really did remember _everything_.

The damage had been healed the moment I was turned into a vampire, I had just been repressing everything because it was far too painful to remember. I stumbled back in shock, and tripped back onto my bed.

"I... I remember everything." I said unable to really believe what I was saying.

"Good, good. You get some rest, and we'll talk more about it in the morning." He smiled widely, and rushed out of the room. I stared at the door as he locked me in. I was a scared girl, lost in my own delusions. My father wasn't evil, was he? Had it all been real? My cruel step-mother. The plot to kill me. The Marshal taking me two counties over to be put in an asylum. The nice orderly who believed me... Carl. He was the only person I ever met who I didn't get visions of. I couldn't tell what was going to happen in his future. When I saw him and talked to him, I just saw... him.

He had planned to get me out of this hell, he'd believed me when I said I wasn't crazy. Except someone else found me that was like him, someone I couldn't see in my dreams. It was James, and he had taken an interest in me. Carl though, he... He was the one who saved me from James. Carl... the one who turned me.

"You do remember." Suddenly Carl was sitting next to me. He smiled widely at me, his eyes crinkling at the sides in happiness for me. He was very large, and imposing. His skin was black, but pale making him look almost ill. Not that I was looking at anything but his friendly face and infectious smile, and his dark red eyes were always kind to me. Even though they were always a little sad.

"What happened to me?" I asked, because the memories were still very fuzzy.

Carl sighed a little bit. "Shock therapy. It gave you amnesia. Then I found you. Then James found you. I had no choice, I wish I could've seen how you turned out. You were such a beautiful soul, you made me want to be human again."

Carl looked down at his large hands. "You know my hands used to be so scarred, back when I was human. My back was covered in lash marks too. In a strange way, I miss those scars. They were reminders of who I once was, of the life I lived, and things I experienced. I think it's sad that vampires heal from most wound's without even a hint of a scar, does that mean we're truly alive, or do we merely exist? In a very real way, you gave me back that feeling, that I was truly alive again. "

"I did?" I asked feeling strangely happy that I made a difference in this stranger's life. Then a flood of memories hit me. That first day when he played that game where he would hide something for me to find. Or when he would try and use sleight of hand to trick me. It never worked. I always guessed right.

He was the only thing in this entire place that was kind. Ironic that I said he was the only person who seemed to have any humanity here.. .and he wasn't even human

"Carl?" I threw myself at him, and hugged him tightly.

"Hey my little one. I missed you." He said into my shoulder.

"How could I have forgotten you?" I said feeling ashamed.

"It's okay. You remember now. Hold onto those memories, and go and get her. She needs you far more than I do." He said as he pulled away and took my hands in his.

"Isabella... Carl I promise I won't forget you this time." I said as I stood and felt my heart stop. I was a vampire again, like I'd been for the last one-hundred and seventy-five years. I turned away from him, and noticed that the door to my room was open again.

I glanced back at him once, he was standing next to my bed, but wasn't looking at me. He was staring at his hands again, his haunted expression made it clear he was lost in his own dark memories. Even though we were parted, perhaps forever, I felt a little bit more complete, like a missing piece of myself had been found again. I knew in that moment, Carl would always be a part of me, he was the reason I was able to live long enough to find her.

I smiled at him one last time before I turned back to the task at hand. Then I rushed through the door, and back to my Isabella, but as I stepped through the doorway the world shifted again.

I found myself hand in hand... with Jasper. He smiled over to me expectantly, and I tried to smile back. I was still too much in shock over meeting Carl, and learning about my horrible human history.

"What's wrong? This was your idea in the first place." He said looking hopeful.

"I... I don't know. Wait is this...?" I stopped in place, forcing him to stop with me. I looked around the forest we were running through, and I noticed a very familiar split tree that had fallen a year after we joined up with the Cullens. It was still very much upright. This was the moment we found them, when we met the family for the first time.

I looked at Jasper and smiled sadly. There was no point, this family was gone now. We had become something new, why on earth would I return here?

"Because you have to remember something." Jasper said in response to my unspoken question. Even for someone who constantly lived in a world of visions. My patience was running out on this stupid dream logic.

"What could I possibly remember that would matter now?" I asked incredulously.

"Not here, this was a happy memory. You want the other one." He sounded solemn, clearly he didn't want to relive the memory he was suggesting either. I just couldn't understand why we would need to go there.

"We're not reliving it for you. We're reliving it for her." He said finally.

"Oh." Was all the response I could muster. I lowered my head and closed my phantom eyes, when I opened them again I was sitting around the dining room table in the house in Forks. Everyone was there, and judging from their expressions, I didn't need to try and figure out what memory this was. This was the night Edward told us we needed to leave her.

Edward stood and looked around at the group, his expression resolute. "I've gathered you all here because I've come to a painful realization, we have to leave Forks."

Carlisle gave Edward a thoughtful look. Esme frowned, she hated the idea of leaving this house, but after a few comments had begun to get back to Carlisle at the hospital, about how young he looked, we all knew it was close to time to begin considering moving. Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett all seemed relatively indifferent, but I just pursed my lips in suspicion.

"Why isn't Bella here? Shouldn't she be a part of this conversation?" I asked unable to keep the edge out of my voice.

"She's not coming." Edward seemed firm, and his expression confirmed it. He had no intention of backing down from his stance, he was clearly determined to leave her behind.

"That seems rash, we've brought her into our lives, we've taken on the risk, why would we back out now? Is it because of the party?" I asked rhetorically, once Edward had decided on something it was almost always pointless to argue with him. Although this time I wasn't about to give into him without a fight.

"Yes, the party had something to do with my decision, but it's been a long time coming. She doesn't belong in our world." Edward's voice was sad, as if the world had closed in around him. His morose expression silenced most of the room. Jasper frowned and sighed.

"It's all my fault, I'm so sorry Edward. You shouldn't have to make this choice." He clutched my hand under the table, half out of his own feelings of guilt, and half to try calm me down. My anger was already heading towards the red line. Whereas the rest of the family was looking at Edward feeling his sorrow over making this impossible decision, I couldn't see it as impossible.

"We bring her with us, we turn her. She belongs with us. Or we can wait for a year for her to graduate, so she can leave her human life behind properly. I just can't believe leaving her is the right thing to do here. She's a part of us now, and abandoning her would be a betrayal she might never get over." I spoke passionately, heatedly, from the heart, but I tried to phrase things as diplomatically as possible. What I didn't say was that he was being a dunderhead, a moron unable to see what he was throwing away.

"And I refuse to let her be turned, I'd rather see her die. Her soul is too beautiful to damn it to our version of hell. Even if we stayed, and she became a vampire, she wouldn't be Bella. She would be a monster like us. This is what is right for her. We need to give her a chance to be human, to have a human family. We're an unnatural influence in her life, and I can't sit around and continue to corrupt her." The nature of his argument seem to entrance the room, almost everyone bought his story, even I felt a brief crack in my resolve.

It made me sit back feeling a bit deflated. He knew he would get the most opposition from me. Even if he didn't know about it, ever since my vision in the cafeteria that day, I'd been obsessed with Bella. We'd become best friends and so much more.

Everyone seemed to consider his words for a moment, then Rosalie opened her mouth. I could see Edward pull back the sneer, probably because he was confident that she was about to support his opinion. "I think she deserves a human life, but shouldn't it be her choice? I'll admit I've never been fond of her, or the way she always seems to choose this life over her human one, but in the end it is her life right?" Rosalie surprised the room with her words, and it left everyone a little taken aback for a few moments. I smiled at her with pride, I'd never known her to be so thoughtful of others.

"I'll give her that choice. I promise. I'll go this very afternoon to talk with her, if we return together you'll know she chose this life. If I come back alone, she decided to live her human life. I won't deny which I prefer, and I won't deny that I think I know what is best for her here, but you're right. We should at least give her the choice." Edward's tone was gentle, comforting.

This seemed to placate the room, Carlisle gave him a reluctant nod, and I gave him a reluctant nod, although my deep frown showed my disappointment. However, I think he underestimated her desire to join us. I think she was going to chose us no matter what she had to give up.

Esme stood and walked over to the window.

"She's my daughter, please bring her back. I... respect your thoughts on the matter..." Esme turned and looked Edward in the eye, before continuing her plea, "but I don't think I could just leave her behind."

"If she doesn't chose us, would you force her hand?" Edward asked simply.

With those words the argument was over, and I couldn't watch anymore.

"Did you see that?" I looked around for Isabella, hoping she witnessed how we were manipulated, but she was nowhere to be seen. I ran from the house and tried to feel for where she was, somewhere in the vast forest of the dream world.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

Victoria had vanished, and I was in the hole again. I screamed until there was nothing left inside me to scream with, my hope lost entirely. Then a deep vibrating sound began to churn the cement above me. At first it was nothing more than a dull thudding, then as it got closer, it sounded like rock pounding on rock. It kept inching closer, until I felt a hand wrap around mine, and then it began to pull. Bright sunlight blinded me as the stranger helped pull me out of the hole that had seemed to overwhelm my will.

I blinked away the spots in my eyes, and tried to focus on my rescuer. It was Alice, she'd come to save me.

"You didn't need me the first time around." She said randomly. Her voice was full and clear, no longer half heard and whispery.

"I need you now." I said simply as wrapped her up in a tight embrace. Somehow I knew the nightmare was over and I would never be there again.

"Isabella. I love you." Alice said between frantic kisses. I buried my head into the nook between right shoulder and neck, and nodded once in acknowledgement. I wasn't ready to say it back. Why was that so hard to do? For a long time I didn't think that I could feel love. With her, I wasn't sure how to describe what it was that I was feeling. It put every description of love that I'd ever read or imagined to shame, including what I thought was love when I was with Edward. So it should be easy, except the only word that I could come up with was "need". I… wasn't ready.

"No, you're not, but I'm not in a hurry. Take your time, I'll be right here." Alice's voice was amused, even playful as she pressed up against me. Somehow able to read my thoughts even as they flitted across my mind. My arms tightened around her. Unwilling to let her move away again.

For the first time in a very long time, I smiled happily. Perhaps for the first time since I was human that smile wasn't tinged with self-mocking or bitterness.

Then the world changed around us. We were in a different forest, far closer to our real home. It finally dawned on me right then, we were in our minds. This was the result of my need to claim her as mine.

"I am yours. Always have been, always will be." Alice said as she looked around. She sounded downright giddy about the prospect. The animal urge that kept rising each time I was with her was satisfied. She really was... mine.

"Mom, you might want to see this." Eliza said from beside us. I jumped slightly in surprise as I turned and looked at her and found her and Bree were standing next to us. Both of them seemed amused, or nervous, I wasn't sure which. I scanned the scene around me in response, not sure I wanted to see what seemed to be worrying them.

All around us were hundreds of newborns, shifters, and werewolves. A literal army, an army that seemed somewhat miffed with us given their demeanor. .

"What the fu..." I started to say, until Alice squeezed my hand.

"Another vision. I guess I can see past stuff I couldn't before. This is pretty nuts. I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark here and say, Joham?" Alice said with a very worried expression on her face.

"We're not alone at least. Look behind us." Bree said with a grin. I glanced back and felt my whole body shiver.

Behind us was an army of our own, albeit it a smaller one. Faces both familiar and welcome, and strangers I'd never met before stood behind us defiantly glaring down the army before us.

"So... I guess we have a bit of a kerfuffle coming. Why am I not surprised?" Eliza said with a touch of playful snark, but she couldn't quite hide her inner excitement. I could practically see her vibrating at the chance to utterly cut loose.

"We should probably try and wake up now." Bree said looking a bit worriedly as she gazed at the approaching wave of enemies.

"This is a vision right?" I asked Alice, unable to keep from feeling a little bit worried myself.

"It could be a nightmare, this whole situation has been very dream-like." Alice said with a shrug.

"What about earlier? was that real? Is Edward going to kill me?" Bree said clearly worried. The stress and fear pouring out of her, was palpable.

I started reached out to comfort her, and was surprised to find Alice moving at the same time as we both drew her into a hug, Alice rested her forehead against mine as she started to speak.

"No, my visions only work based on the decisions people make. He may want to try and kill you if he gets the opportunity. We're not going to let him get that opportunity. We'll end him first." Alice said without remorse.

"I'll do it myself." Her voice sounded harsh, it was unlike the sweet-natured woman I was used to her being, but she sounded resolute.

Eliza joined the impromptu group hug and murmured reassuringly to Bree. "Don't worry. We're going to protect you. We'll teach you to defend yourself, and in the meantime... don't wander off without any of us."

Bree nodded a little bit, not complaining at all at being in the middle of the group hug.

"I think we should wake up now." Eliza said with a touch of worry, as she looked around.

"Oww, pinching doesn't work." Bree said as she pinched her forearm mercilessly.

I frowned a little bit my eyes falling on Alice's face as she pulled away to look at the oncoming horde. She glanced at me expectantly. I cleared my throat and took over, "Everyone... on the count of three we wake up... 1... 2... 3..."

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**Woo hoo! Chapter! Finally!**

**1) I'm REALLY sorry about the wait for this chapter. I made the monumental mistake of getting a massive sunburn, enough to put me into the hospital (falling asleep in the sun for 8 hours will do that to you) Now i've managed to get an infection that seems to have made itself at home and i can't seem to throw it. **

**2) Went a little different for this chapter. Samantha thought, rather than another straight up plunge through memories, like when Bree was bitten, that Alice being bitten probably would bring something different to the table. Since she lives half in visions anyway. So... this is what we came up with! What do you think?**

**So Alice is now REALLY part of the "Family" so to speak. How will this affect Bella and the group as a whole? oh and before you think that you've seen everything that makes Bella and Eliza different... i say... Um no. we have so much planned. stuffs you haven't seen yet :D **

**3) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: Yeah, so we had a long break between chapters. There are a great number of reasons for this, but I'll take the blame for a lot of it. I've had a major case of writer's block, and a good deal of this chapter rested on my shoulders. Still, I hope it wasn't too confusing. Next chapter is already planned out and partially written so the turn around should be quite a bit shorter. Until next time!**

**4) She lies. I was the bimbo who fell asleep in the sun and i am the one in the hospital :P She can't have the blame! NYAH! **

**5) We passed 1,100 reviews O_O WOOOHOOO! we're 1/5 of the way to 5k reviews :D **

**6) Please read and review!**


	44. Hello and Goodbye

**~ Chapter 44 ~**

_**I watch the ripples change their size**_

_**But never leave the stream**_

_**Of warm impermanence and**_

_**So the days float through my eyes**_

_**But still the days seem the same**_

_**And these children that you spit on**_

_**As they try to change their worlds**_

_**Are immune to your consultations**_

_**They're quite aware **_

_**of what they're going through.**_

The girl was perfect. Eighteen or nineteen years old, and beautiful, in an exotic kind of way. She looked like some kind of Indian or Native American... whatever. All Tully cared about was that she had gorgeous long black hair and high cheekbones. He tilted his head at her, maybe she was some Asian type, Tully couldn't tell. What was important was that she seemed right for the profile. The specific set of physical traits and scents needed for a potential to survive the process.

Usually when he was looking for recruits, he found people who were mostly acceptable, or close. There was always some margin for error in this process, but he'd had to have his people dispose of more than one failure because they weren't strong enough to survive the transformation process. Not with this one though, there was something special about her that drew him in. She was, as far as he could tell, absolutely perfect.

He put on his best charming smile and went in for the kill, so to speak. He was vain about his appearance, and it worked wonders for recruiting. Male, female, it didn't make a difference, although this was only the second girl he'd tried to recruit.

The first was Amy, and she was so exciting those first few weeks, but as a plaything, she was only adequate. She was pretty in an obvious sort of way, but far too insipid for Tully's tastes. In the end he was surprised that Amy had actually survived the transformation process, mostly because even though she lived, she displayed a meekness that didn't bode well for long term survival. Maybe this one would be better.

It also helped that he tended to prey on stupid high school or freshmen college students. They were almost always easy prey, looking to _spread their wings_ in the _real world_, just thinking about that made him almost chuckle. So easy, too easy. Fools, desperate to be adults when most of them had no concept of the definition.

That's why his other two were easy to catch. Although jock types always were. Kevin had been his first acquisition, and he was a good second in command, even though Tully knew he'd have to replace him sooner or later. Last and least of course was Tommy, who was a waste of material in Tully's eyes. Lumbering, stupid, but ultimately loyal. He was an attack dog, a shock troop, basic cannon fodder. Which was important as far as his master's were concerned.

To Tully though, he wanted more. He wanted a team he could depend on, but wanted to make sure that none were strong enough to challenge him. This girl seemed different. His senses practically screamed at him that she was a perfect mate for him. That she would be strong, and powerful, but she was a female so he didn't have to worry about his place as alpha in the group. She would learn her place and accept it.

She smiled at him, as he approached but not exactly the way he expected. She seemed almost impatient as he started to lead with his opening line, which he'd used on countless girls over the years. He didn't like to brag, but he'd had more conquests than Napoleon. Okay, maybe he did like to brag, but that wasn't the point. He was expecting the average shyness and demure look, or a quick glance up and down evaluating him. Instead she met his eyes, and examined his face. Her reaction put him slightly on edge. He didn't want to lose this one. So he changed tactics, going for the sympathetic route instead.

"I was hoping you could help me." His charming smile shifted slightly, so that he seemed a bit more in need. He didn't like to sound like he was pleading, but he couldn't deny the results.

"Oh, um... do I know you?" Her voice was pleasing to Tully's ears even though it was filled with slight suspicion. He imagined it would take years, possibly decades before her grew tired of her. Yes, she would do nicely.

"No, I'm sorry to bug you. I'm Tully. I'm totally turned around, and this map is just no help at all." Tully pulled out the campus map he just picked up from admissions, he'd taken the time to unfold it and refold it improperly so that it appeared as if he'd looked at several times. He used his best sincere voice, though he made sure to leak a bit of frustration. When she smiled in understand he knew she was hooked and he had to stifle a smile in satisfaction.

"Okay, um... where are you trying to get to?" She tilted her head at him, waiting for his answer.

"Whitehall Commons, am I even on the right side of campus?" He said with a touch of desperation. Whitehall was where admissions was, and was the most common destination this early in the semester for lost students.

"Yeah, Whitehall is way on the other side of campus. Hmm, I have some time between classes, I can show you. It's kind of hard to find." She seemed a little reluctant, more than he hoped she would be, but at least she seemed to be buying his ruse entirely. Her shoulders visibly relaxed, and her posture opened up slightly. He gave her wide thankful smile, in faux appreciation.

"Thanks for this, someone should get a petition going to put up signs everywhere, this campus is so confusing." He offered trying to sound resigned to his frustration, but still able to find some humor in it. He knew that would ingratiate her to him, if he sounded a little less helpless, just disoriented.

"That's a good idea, I'd definitely sign that petition, maybe you could get it started when you get settled." She said in a pleasant, but slightly off handed manner. He nodded and smiled in response, but the way she said it made Tully a little nervous, and he didn't want to press his luck. So the rest of the walk happened in silence. When they were halfway across campus, they walked through an area that didn't have much traffic, and the buildings faced in such a way that there were very few windows overlooking the path.

She began to lag behind, feeling suddenly like something was off about the whole situation. Unfortunately it was already too late, because Tommy and Kevin popped up out of their hiding spots behind her. Tully stopped and turned to face her with a smug grin splitting his face nearly in two. The woman turned her body and found Kevin and Tommy were right behind her. She turned back towards Tully and frowned.

"That is Kevin, and the big one is Tommy, they are your new brothers. Amy is the one in the Impala over there. You should wave, you'll have a lot in common soon." With those introductions he nodded to each of them, but didn't wait for her to respond. The nods were just a signal for the other men to move, and after a very brief struggle they had her immobilized. He was surprised when she didn't scream out as she struggled in their arms.

Had they had mere human strength, Tully wasn't entirely sure that she wouldn't have laid at least one of them out. As it was, her strikes were specific and brutal, exploiting vulnerable areas in a way that normally would've been very effective. Unfortunately for her, they healed from the minor injuries far too quickly to acknowledge the temporary pain. Still it took all three of them to hold her down until they got her secured.

To his further surprise she didn't show fear or panic when she realized she was immobilized. It was slightly disconcerting to Tully. Instead of panicking and begging and looking for a way out, she clenched her jaw at him, her face set into an expression of pure hatred.

"You have no idea how big of a mistake this is." She said with conviction. Not that it gave Tully the slightest pause.

"I'll see you on the flipside little girl. Welcome to the pack." Tully smiled maliciously, and signaled Kevin to knock her out. He nodded happily, then he let Tommy take a hold of her and punched her across the face with a heavy right hook. She took it and stared at him, her eyes filled with malice and promised retribution. Her steely resolve managed to unnerve Kevin slightly.

"Bitch has some stamina. I knew she was perfect." Tully said with a bit of a giggle. Kevin wasn't amused, he thought he'd put more than enough into that punch to knock out a normal human. Apparently one thing the girl did not have was a glass jaw. He leaned back and threw himself into the second one. He could feel her jaw bone crack under the strain, but she seemed to fight against the pain and kept her eyes open for several seconds before unconsciousness pulled her under.

"Let's get out of here." Tully ordered. Tommy picked up the unconscious girl and cradled her gently as he made his way towards the old barely running Chevy Impala that Tully was 'restoring'. He reluctantly opened the trunk and laid her inside, she was pretty, and he hated seeing pretty things hurt. Tommy didn't have much in the way of smarts, but he had never been mean, not until Kevin and Tully found him. He tried repeatedly, but he just couldn't fight the orders of his Alpha, no matter how ugly those orders were.

The trip to their lair, as Tully liked to call it, was a short one. The former frat house had mostly burned down in a fire the year before, all that remained was a cavernous basement. They had been using it for a couple of months since it was located a block away from the edge of campus. It was isolated, and no one thought to look around it. The only real downside was the pervasive smell of ashes, but it was something they had learned to lead with. Amy timidly held the door to the basement open for Tommy who was carrying the girl who was already fighting to wake up. Kevin and Tully followed behind them.

The space had been emptied out for the most part. The unfinished space had cinderblock walls, a poured concrete floor, and a couple of pieces of furniture. The electricity had never been shut off, so the mini fridge they set up by the old sink worked to store the catalyst. Tully made his way over to the fridge with a wide smile on his face. Kevin lingered by the stairs, he didn't like the screams that came during the transition. It reminded him of his own fever dreams, dreams that haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

Tommy laid the young woman as gently as he could, without looking like he was treating her gently, on an old cot that had its frame bolted to the floor. Amy repressed a smile, she loved the way Tommy cared. In another life she might've even liked him. He was sweet, even though he was a bit dim. It was a shame to her that neither Tully or Kevin could see he was more than a meat shield. Sure he was nearly seven feet tall and built like a linebacker, but he had such a gentle soul. She leaned against the wall opposite from the stairs, because she liked keeping as much distance from Kevin as possible. She reasoned the less noticeable she was, the less likely he was to hurt her.

Of the three of them, Tommy was the only one that hadn't used her. Technically she was Tully's mate, but Kevin helped himself whenever Tully was in a good mood. Lately it wasn't so often, because the last three recruits had died during the transition. Tully seemed hopeful this time, which meant maybe Amy would get to have a few nights alone. No, if Tully moved on to this girl, Kevin wouldn't hesitate to claim her as his. _Wolf politics_, she mentally sneered at the idea. Her eyes were vacant as she took in the sight in front of her, holding in her compassion because it wasn't like it did any good anymore. Arguing or even showing displeasure with Tully could end up very painful for all those involved. He was their "Alpha". She wasn't sure how he came up with that title, but it meant no matter how much they wished otherwise, they couldn't do anything against his orders. A fact he liked to remind them of ten or twenty times a day.

Tully pulled the kit out of the fridge and quickly prepared the syringe. The dark pink liquid was thick and viscous, but at least it didn't take much for it to work. Tully loved this part, he always watched with perverse pleasure as the new recruit writhed in pain. "Tommy, she might fight so get the restraints." Tommy obeyed his master, and pulled up out the handcuffs attached to the metal frame of the cot and clicked them onto her wrists and ankles.

Her eyes started to open when Tully pressed the needle into her arm. She started to open her mouth when he depressed the plunger. The effect was immediate. Her body started to contort as muscle spasms racked her body in the kind of pain that would make even the toughest person cry in agony. Then she began to radiate heat, as her temperature shot up by ten degrees in seconds. Even though the pain was obvious, she only gritted her teeth, and let through a small moan occasionally. For twenty minutes she pressed against her restraints, as her body twisted again and again.

Tully stared in fascination. In all the times they'd done this, he'd never seen anyone hold in the screams before. He was proud of the fact that he had gone almost a minute without screaming in pain when he was changed. Tommy had retreated over to Amy, and stood a step in front of her just in case things turned bad. Amy played with her nails, unwilling to look at the poor girl suffer. Kevin had inched his way over to the couch that was facing the cot but didn't sit down, instead he opted to lean against one of the arms. He was also intrigued by the relative silence. Then the links holding the cuffs on her right hand gave way. Tully stepped back in shock, a new recruit shouldn't have the strength to do that. Kevin immediately moved in to secure her hand, using a zip tie to attach it back to the frame of the cot.

"That shouldn't be possible." Tully's face had hardened. He'd been warned of abominations, but he hadn't encountered one before. Doctor Tepes had personally explained the correct way to administer the catalyst. Doctor Tepes had showed Kevin how to do it, over Tully's protests, just in case he needed to take over as Alpha, god forbid.

Kevin tensed up, waiting for the zip tie to give way, or one of the other handcuffs. A few seconds later she stopped moving, her breathing returned to normal, and the extreme heat coming off her settled to a proper one-hundred and eight degrees. Tully smiled crookedly, that was fast for a transition. At least she'd survived it. The only explanation he could think of for her display of strength was that the cuff holding her wrist must have given out from repeated use, the other recruits must've weakened it for her. He clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Well we have a new member. She'll be out for a few hours, so Amy, take Tommy and get her some food. Kevin, why don't you look around for our next recruit. I'll handle her orientation. We can probably get one or two more from the campus before we need to move on." Kevin nodded. So did Amy and Tommy. Although Amy wanted to stop him, she couldn't do a thing when he spoke as their alpha. Tommy gave her a look, he wasn't naive no matter how simple he was, he knew what Tully meant by 'Orientation'.

Then there was a roar, unlike anything any of them had heard. Terror filled their hearts, and they all froze in place. Tully responded with an involuntary jerk of terror, the jolt of the sound was so unexpected that he snapped his head around in shock. Tommy squared his shoulders off ready for a fight. Kevin started to shake, unable to make his feet work. Amy stood in shock, ready to run, but more curious than anything else. What had Tully done to this girl?

An instant later her form erupted, and in her place a giant black wolf stood on the cot snarling at Tully with pure rage in its eyes. Tully sneered, and shed his shirt, though he didn't wait to remove his pants before shifting over the course of five seconds, into a wolf himself. Amy looked between the two wolves in confusion. Besides Tommy, Tully was the biggest of the group by quite a bit. This girl was nearly half again his size, it didn't make sense.

Kevin followed Tully's lead and shifted himself, his mangy dull brown fur was still standing on end, and he couldn't quite force his tail form between his hind legs. Tommy dutifully shifted as well, and so did Amy, although she lingered for a few seconds past what was appropriate for the situation.

"I told you. You've just made the last mistake you'll ever make." The girl's voice came through clearly to Tully, even though he hadn't brought her into the pack officially yet. "My name is Michele Black, I'm the daughter of Jacob Black, and you've just pissed me off."

The voice was like nothing any of them had ever heard. It radiated with a power and rage that made Tully's alpha voice look meek and tiny by comparison.

Tully tensed waiting for the attack, but he wasn't prepared for her speed. She had his throat between her jaws in a micro-second. In the next instant he felt a searing pain as the bottom part of his muzzle was pulled away. Blood splashed on Michele's black fur, as Tully fell, dead before his head even hit the ground. She turned towards Kevin who was the closest, but he had already turned to run. She almost went after him, but the other two were still a threat.

Amy stared in disbelief at the limp body of Tully who had shifted back to human after the vicious assault. Tommy on the other hand was focused on Michele, and had put himself between her and Amy. Michele stared at him for a long moment before anything happened. Then suddenly he felt something press into his mind, it felt different. It was the opposite of Tully and the painful scream he projected into his pack's mind whenever he issued orders. Though at the moment it was filled with rage. "Do you back down?" Her voice was crystal clear, and her will was undeniable. It was the easiest thing in the world to simply back down, to submit to her power. Except he couldn't let Amy be hurt so he puffed his chest out.

"I won't let you hurt her, she's been hurt enough. I'll die first." His heavy voice echoed in both their minds, and Michele could tell he was absolutely sincere. Then a soft hand touched the side of his face, and he turned to find Amy there, her face serene, accepting. She turned to Michele and locked eyes with her.

"I swear we didn't want to hurt you. We didn't have a choice. When Tully said something it was like... our bodies had to obey, and... if we tried to fight it... or even argue. He punished us." She bowed her head in a gesture of subservience.

Michele motioned towards Tommy as if asking for confirmation of what was said. Tommy nodded once in agreement. Then as if a switch had been turned on, they both felt a surge of power and connection unlike anything they had experienced before. Michele just stared at the two new members of her pack, it was a rush, and it was so much more than what she had imagined when her father had tried to describe it to her. The two people in front of her were looking at her with confusion. They didn't understand what had just happened. She sent out a command for Tommy to change back to human and he obeyed instantly.

Michele followed suit a moment later, and took a deep breath, looking at the two of them. "Did he do this to you?" She asked after a moment of contemplation, gesturing with an arm toward the cot she had just been cuffed to.

"Yes... he did. He injected us with whatever that was and then it's pain, and then we turn into wolves. There has been others too, but the last few have died. What are you?" Amy asked curiously, her voice nervous and timid. She still had no idea what had just happened.

"Apparently I truly am my father's daughter. Stay here." Making the last bit an absolute command she turned and in an explosion of fur again she was up and running out of the house.

Michele let her rage take over, as she followed the scent trail of the one that had fled. She wasn't going to let him get away. Not after what he tried to do, what he would have done. She felt the pure power of her form, and a dark exhilaration, as she felt her newly awakened animal side thrill at the idea of the hunt. Her massive paws barely touched the ground as she chased after his scent.

It didn't take her long to catch up, Kevin was in a full out panic flight mode, and didn't seem to have a plan on where to run. He was just running. She caught up to him and charged him from the side, knocking him to the ground. He was up on his feet in an instant, growling threateningly.

She didn't even bother to give him a chance. She pounced.

The fight was over in less than three seconds. For a girl who grew up watching her father and many members of her family fight and claw. It didn't matter that she had just shifted. This wolf was slow and awkward in his lunges. Just like before she latched onto his vulnerable throat and ripped it out. It dawned on her as she watched him writhe on the ground for several seconds before he shifted back to human and went totally still, that she'd just ended two lives. It was almost too much to take in.

She let herself tremble from that new pain for a moment, before she pushed down the conflict and looked around for a place to hide his body. There was a nearby bush that would work to conceal him until at least tomorrow, it would work for now, she didn't have time to properly hide the body. At least she was fairly certain he would be classified as a death by animal attack.

Not sparing the body a backward glance she turned and made her way back to the house she had left. Taking the time to calm her rage. . She should've trusted her gut, Tully smelled wrong from the first moment he walked up. She didn't have the senses of either of her parents, but hers were sharper than most. She was just brought up too well to abandon someone in trouble. She shifted back into her human form as she descended the stairs of the ruined frat house with a small smile. Once she was in their presence again, she couldn't deny the connection she felt to them. That new relationship demanded at least some explanation.

"My father tried so hard to keep me from this, but I guess it was inevitable. I'm from a long line of shifters, werewolves, I was born to be an Alpha. Whatever Tully injected in me just triggered my birthright I think. I guess school's over for the year, shit I was gonna graduate with a perfect attendance record." Michele sighed slightly, then glanced at the cot where the tatters of her clothes remained from when she originally shifted.

"Do you guys have some extra clothes?" Michele asked a little feeling suddenly very exposed. She wasn't sure who these people were, but they were a part of her life now. So she had to start somewhere. She also knew what she was going to next. She had to go home. Her parents needed to know about this.

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Carlisle stared out the window, gazing out at the night sky without really seeing it. He was too lost in his own thoughts. He couldn't believe how in less than twenty-four hours, the family he had built, who had been such an integral part of his life for nearly two centuries had fallen apart so completely. What was worse is that he had no clue where it had all come apart.

That wasn't quite true. Carlisle knew, but he didn't want to admit it to himself yet. He couldn't comprehend that his first son was that disturbed.

"It's not your fault you know." Tanya's distinct and very feminine voice drifted from the door behind him. her voice had always been a source of great comfort for Carlisle, because she meant so much to him. Since they met in New York all those years ago, after she and her coven had fled to the America's to get much needed distance from the Volturi.

How they came to have a bond, closer than any sibling, was a long story, and one he thought of often. The fact that the Denali's had come to their own decision to choose a humane diet, made them all a part of a very small circle, which only reinforced the connection between him and her coven. Given Tanya's own remarkable restraint, he often thought she could be an excellent doctor in her own right, even though she showed no interest or inclination to do so. The rest of the family though were just as precious to him, even if he didn't share nearly as close a relationship with them.

Carlisle didn't turn to speak to his visitor. Instead he shifted his gaze to stare at her transparent reflection in the window. "What are you doing up here?" He asked with a bit too harshly then he intended.

"Eleazar and Carmen just spent an hour with Esme trying to calm her down. They were trying to make her understand the same thing that I'm here to make you grasp as well." Tanya said, her voice gentle.

Carlisle's mouth twisted into a grimace, "What is this grand realization that you want me to see?"

Tanya smiled a little bit, her smile conveyed her endless compassion and understanding. He envied that ability sometimes, although he also had endless compassion, he often had trouble understanding the motivations of others. "It's pretty simple really. The breaking of your family is not your fault."

Carlisle couldn't help a scowl that crossed his face, his voice still too harsh. "I beg to differ."

Tanya's eyes locked onto his own, finding him through the reflection in the glass. The transparent panel acting almost like a barrier between them, keeping this conversation from seeming too real. Maybe that's why he was here, in this room, Edward's room. It had occurred to him over the course of the afternoon that everything Edward had put in there was simply decoration. Nothing of substance, no pictures or keepsakes. Even his massive music collection was general, it didn't show specific taste, it was like he merely had everything that fell under the classical genre because he had no real opinion about what he liked. It made Carlisle wonder, did Edward care about anything?

Carlisle hadn't left his son's room since Edward ran off earlier in the afternoon . He'd spent hours just staring out the window where Edward had gone, wondering how and why things had turned so sour. After a while though Carlisle felt he needed more, he needed to know _why. _

So he started searching, looking for a reason. The music was the first thing that jumped out at him. Then he noticed that Edward's laptop was still on, he flipped it open and was surprised that there was no password blocking him. Once on the desktop, a picture of Isabella taken using a telescopic lens dominated the screen. The picture bothered him for some reason, and it took him several seconds to figure out why. Her deep red eyes looking down, creating the illusion of someone demure and subservient. This forced Carlisle's hand, even though he hesitated a moment before his curiosity got the better of his respect for Edward's privacy.

Buried in a maze of nested folders were hundreds of pictures of Isabella, and a few short videos. Although a few were taken by hand, using the camera still sitting on the shelf behind him, the rest were obviously not as high in quality. It was disturbing to see a whole progression of pictures devoted to the day by day recovery of Isabella after the blast, but it was even more creepy when he figured out that the rest of the pictures and video had come from the local high school's closed circuit security monitoring system. Edward had apparently managed to break in and make copies of her brief time in the school.

The whole thing struck Carlisle as being... very wrong. Edward's voyeuristic obsession with Isabella crossed some fundamental lines, it seemed to be far more than the burning for an old flame, or unrequited love. There was a level of fixation that was not only unhealthy, but potentially dangerous.

Carlisle frowned, and finally glanced back at Tanya again, thankful that she seemed to have taken no offense to the tone his voice. She moved around the Chaise lounge and sat down gracefully before responding. "Do tell." Her voice was inquisitive, but didn't add any undue pressure. It was a simple request, not a demand.

Carlisle sighed a little bit, his tense posture slumping into defeat. "I must have gone wrong somewhere. My entire family is gone, for one reason or another, except for Esme who is a wreck right now, and I have absolutely no clue how to go about fixing any of it."

Carlisle fell silent as he replayed the conversation with Edward from earlier in the day. He had gone with Jasper, more to prevent a confrontation from escalating than to side with either one of them. Then he heard the despicable things that Edward was saying on the phone to Aro. It took everything just to stop Jasper from jumping into the room right then and taking Edward's throat. Carlisle couldn't get the image of Jasper's expression off his mind. That mixture of rage and disappointment echoed his own disgust and pangs of betrayal he felt about his son.

Maybe it added to the anger Carlisle felt when he stormed in and demanded an explanation from Edward. Carlisle had been rarely so aggressively confrontational throughout his life, he usually preferred to keep a cool head, so that he could keep tempers diffused. What was more surprising though, was the fact that they had caught Edward off guard at all when they stormed into his room. It was literally the first time that that had ever happened, you don't just walk up on someone when your thoughts are literally broadcast to them constantly. It made Carlisle wonder if maybe there was something wrong with his son, and maybe that was what was causing his bizarre behavior.

To make matters worse, Carlisle wasn't sure if it was the events of the day, his aggressive approach, or just the fact that he had managed to surprise Edward that caused his troubled son to lash out so coldly in response. Or what if it was even worse, being exposed like that made him reveal something that was tied to a deeper issue that Carlisle had never seen before.

Then there were Edward's accusations, which still rung in Carlisle's ears. He recalled the memory, which he had replayed so many times that he couldn't really hear the words anymore, "I told you! I told all of you all those years ago we shouldn't change her. I told you she would be sacrificing her soul! Even though I was giving up a mate, and I loved her more than anything, I gave her up! Now look at her! She's a monster. She tried to kill me. She's torn our family apart! Instead of everyone realizing I was right, she's gotten everyone to turn on me like it's all my fault!"

Carlisle hadn't been able to argue at the time, he couldn't find the right words to contradict him. Yet they felt wrong. He couldn't believe that Isabella was a monster, and he couldn't believe that his entire family had judged Edward so unfairly.

There was something more there, because he simply couldn't ignore what Edward had said about his sisters to the Volturi. No matter what they had done, that was unacceptable on every level. He had tried to respond with that, but that response just seemed to shock Edward.

Carlisle wondered how Edward could have possibly thought that Carlisle would condone something like that or its implications. To be so shocked by something so obvious spoke to a level of irrational dissociation with the world that was beyond troubling, it was borderline schizophrenic. When Edward shouted that everyone was turning on him, for a moment Carlisle wondered if Edward was about to attack him. Had he really suffered a mental break? No, if he had, he wouldn't have just stormed out, leaping out of the second floor window without a glance backward.

As for Isabella, Carlisle just couldn't piece together all facts about her in a way that reconciled the full picture. Isabella was obviously different physically from normal vampires, and her ability to survive and _heal_ the burns she had received when their house exploded, was nothing short of extraordinary. He couldn't get his head around that fact alone. When he tried to put that fact together with the memory of witnessing her and daughter taking apart an army of newborns, he felt perplexed and confused. Not to mention what had happened when Eliza had bitten Bree. The newborn's body was literally tearing itself apart sending the girl to the edge of death, and then after Eliza bit her... suddenly, the girl was not only NOT on the verge of death, but seemed completely whole. Carlisle had even kept his eye on Bree over the course of Isabella's convalescence, waiting for any of her previous symptoms to reassert themselves. However, the she really seemed cured.

Those were just the physical changes. Equally as concerning were the changes in Isabella's personality. When he found out she was alive, he had suspected that she would be angry at them. Carlisle wasn't so naïve as to think she wouldn't hold a grudge for them leaving her behind, not matter how reluctant most of the family was those actions initially.

What he couldn't fathom was how she changed so completely. Anger was a motivator, but her personality was totally gone, as if someone had re-written her. What could be the impetus to cause such a startling change? Carlisle was of the opinion that becoming a vampire didn't change you, so much as it distilled who you were to a more vivid and undiluted version of your previous self. The recall his vampire abilities granted him, allowed him to vividly bring up all memories he had of her. Shy, tentative, awkward, both socially and physically, and caring. Those were the qualities he attributed to her, although thinking back he did see something she kept buried most of the time. A strength that made him sure that she could've handled immortality.

She never wavered, she never looked away, even in the face of certain death. She chose to sacrifice herself for his family, and for her mother without hesitation. She put herself in such danger that it was remarkable that she survived the encounter with James. Even more telling was the walked knowingly into a den of vampires without so much as a word to her father in warning. If she had become a victim of their loss of control, no one would've known about it. Those simple and subtle displays of inner strength were totally lost on Edward, that's clear now. He was so convinced she was weak, that he used that weakness as an excuse for them to leave her behind.

That day, that miserable day when he made them leave. He'd had to spend hours with Esme, calming her down in an almost impossible attempt to keep her from going to Isabella on her own. It broke her when they left, leaving behind a child, so vulnerable and alone. Left to the ravages of time and predators both human and vampire. It was an impossible request that Edward had demanded on the family. But out of love they consented, and Carlisle had always regretted it. Even though she hadn't wanted to go with them.

Unless she had. Had Edward lied to them to force their departure? Had he been that manipulative? No, there was no way he could've done that to Esme, or Alice who loved her as family. Even Rosalie was hurt by their departure, although at the same time she respected Bella's choice to stay human. Was that strength all she had left, and if so what had happened to her to strip the rest of her away to such an extreme degree.

This Bella wasn't just darker, she was violent, angry, and powerful. She radiated that capacity for violence, with an aura of barely restrained rage most of the time. She was more aggressive and uncontrolled than he had ever imagined her being, even during her newborn phase. She wasn't shy, or tentative, and she certainly wasn't physically awkward anymore though that was to be expected, but she wasn't socially awkward either. She seemed to radiate an extreme apathy towards people's opinions of her flashes of deep empathy from her. Glimpses that reminded him of the Bella he remembered. Mostly in her interactions with Eliza and then Bree, and even to a lesser extent the wolves when they were around. However she seemed to have a high level of contempt for everyone else around her, as if she absolutely didn't care one way or the other. For all the world it seemed like she was a modern day Sword of Damocles, ready to snap at any minute.

However, there had to me more to what was going on. Alice hadn't left because of Bella. Carlisle frowned slightly, mentally correcting himself. Alice hadn't left _just_ because of Bella. Edward had obviously hurt her, so she had walked away and asked to join another coven seemingly without any hesitation. It was the falling of the first stone that heralded an avalanche. Rosalie and Emmett had followed, and Carlisle knew that in all likelihood Jasper and Adara had followed as well.

On one hand he couldn't believe the family they had built for over a century, had splintered and shattered in one day. On the other hand, he couldn't believe the level of Edward's anger and selfishness, in wanting to hurt his siblings. What bothered him most of all was that Alice, Rosalie and Emmett all seemed to be incredibly angry, for something that Edward had done to Alice, he just couldn't figure out what. He felt like it was staring him in the face but he was missing it.

He truly didn't know what to do.

"Carlisle, all children grow up some time, then they chose their own path, and all you can do is hope you've done your best raising them. Some will stumble and fall, others will make the right decisions and stand tall on the foundations you've created for them. However, your family is not made up of children learning to be adults. They are adults pretending to be children." Tanya's voice was gentle, but firm.

When she got no verbal response from him she continued. "You are younger than I am. And sometimes I wonder if you don't really understand how unprecedented your situation has been."

She paused for a moment, waiting for a response, when she got none she continued. "You must understand how unusual your situation is. You've spent the last two hundred years building a family made up of strangers. My sisters and I spent many years growing close, we had constant fights those first two centuries or so. Somehow you have made family based on nothing more than love and a vow to retain your humanity together. Without intimidation or a power structure to keep them in check. Our mother was strong, and kept us in line those first couple of centuries. We learned to love her as our mother, but not at first. When she died, we almost split apart. If I hadn't stepped up to lead, we might have parted ways."

"But you didn't. You stayed together." Carlisle said softly, his head cast down in contemplation.

"Yes, we did. We found that love was more important, but that is not a natural impulse for our kind. Perhaps it is because of our diet, perhaps it is a depth of compassion within you that you share with your family. Either way, you have a family. Sure, some of your members may have ventured off for a few years early on, but as far as you've told me… nothing of late. That is unheard of in a coven; especially one with no… method of keeping members in line. It's just natural for people to want to spread their wings, to be in control. Yet none of your family has felt that in… what? A century and a half?"

"The same could be said of your coven. Laurent and Garrett were nomadic before joining you. They have not strayed either." Carlisle met her gaze with a new sense of resolve. Convinced that he was not special in the slightest.

Her tone was quiet and gentle, almost contemplative as she responded. "Not exactly. We don't advertise our problems. It is a daily struggle to maintain our commitment to each other. I alone have no mate, and because of that I've spent a majority of my time keeping the threads of our family together. It is hard, yet rewarding work. Yet I get none of that from you. Sure, you have minor disagreements, but rarely are you required to mediate major ones, or spend time going around to members soothing their feelings toward one another, and reminding them that differences in opinions aren't always personal. Which makes your family different. Honestly I attribute most of that to you, because you are unique among vampire kind."

Carlisle frowned at that, shaking his head almost immediately, "I'm not special. I chose this lifestyle, much as you and several others did."

Tanya was shaking her head almost immediately. "No, that's not what I'm talking about. Yes, our diet makes us part of a relatively small circle, but what I'm talking about is you. You are one of the few vampires in this world who makes no enemies."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. She rolled her eyes at him before continuing, her voice firm. "You don't make allies, or connections. You have no concern for power struggles or challenging others for dominance. You treat all but the most despicable among our kind with respect, and forge relationships without any expectations. You make very few enemies throughout this world. Anyone who knows you speaks of your compassion. The Volturi themselves wanted you, despite the fact that you offered them no special abilities that would strengthen their standing in any way. As I say you're unique."

"What does any of that have to do with anything here?" Carlisle asked, his tone reflecting a touch of the bitterness he felt about his family abandoning him.

Tanya smiled a little bit, "You are a very compassionate man. You think the best of everyone. It can sometimes blind you to their faults. You know that you avoid vampire politics. As much as I respect you, and even love you, it's not an arena you'd excel at."

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Carlisle admitted softly, turning back to the window and leaning forward to rest his forehead against the glass.

"I would be astounded if you did. The seven of us have just finished discussing it. Whatever is going on, is vampire politics at its worst. Whoever this Joham person is, obviously has some major designs. Designs like this don't just come together in the spur of the moment. It takes years, maybe even decades of planning. Anytime a vampire had tried something on this scale before, they've had to account for the presence and inevitable involvement of the Volturi. Except in every single instance before when the Volturi saw something as big as this seems to be coming. They stomped enemies or anyone who would disturb the balance, into the ground hard and fast. So this Joham is being very careful, and obviously has a contingency plan set up for a way to deal with the Volturi." Tanya shook her head slightly, she had argued with Eleazar on this point. She had refused to believe anyone was suicidal enough to challenge the Volturi, but Eleazar had hammered against her stance in a logical way, and she'd been forced to concede the fight.

"You know there is no love lost between the Volturi and my coven. They killed our mother. They don't enforce our laws as much as hold the threat of extermination over all of our heads if we break them. However, this new player, Joham, seems to have a desire to kill covens for no other reason than they're there. So he's obviously not going to be any better if he does ultimately win and take over. No matter if his plans have been in place for decades, he's a major threat to our way of life." She shook her head in disgust.

"The Volturi have been unchallenged for how many centuries? Now they're facing something that may be their first true challenge. Like I said, vampire politics at its worst, a play for power from one party, while another tries to cover all their bases. Only now, there are two major wild cards mucking it up for both sides. Not only that, but they are two former Volturi enforcers no less. The Assassin and the Executioner." This caused Carlisle to turn back towards her, his expression still mostly embittered, but now there was a curiosity that hadn't been there before.

"Why do you keep calling them that?" Carlisle asked a bit more angrily than intended, though it effectively changed the subject which he was more than happy to do. The machinations of horrible people doing horrible things never sat well with him. Hearing conjecture about a threat that could take down the Volturi unnerved him to his core.

Tanya shrugged a little bit in response. Her expression clearing showing her discomfort with the subject. Her hatred of the Volturi had colored her opinion of Isabella since she rescued them from that newborn army. "That's what rumors have called them for years. I don't know when, or from where the nicknames originated, but from what I understand it started because they were suddenly very active about fifty or sixty years ago in Europe. They put down threat after threat, newborns, regular violations and risks of exposure. They got the nicknames because that's how they did their jobs. Quickly, efficiently. They didn't seem to have the typical Volturi flair for reveling in the agony of any vampires they put down. Garrett tends to keep his ear to the ground and in contact with old friends and resources better than I do. As far he's heard they never prolonged the death of someone just to do so. They also didn't go out of their way to create body counts. With them, I never heard of someone who was 'punished' because of guilt just by association, or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Carlisle shuddered a little bit, he had heard of more than one coven that had been destroyed because of the offenses of a single one of their members, even if the others pleaded ignorance. Jane and Alec in particular were especially brutal in this regard. They tended to prefer just to leave a clean slate rather than risk leaving any loose ends.

"As I told you a week ago. A lot of it is just rumors and conjecture, the only reason I was able to identify them is because of the rather identifying tell of the Ex—I mean Eliza's violet eyes, and they're always together, so I was able to identify... Isabella as well. Before seeing her, I thought the description of her having 'eyes that are black as death itself' was simply hyperbole." Tanya shook her head slightly, she'd gotten off track.

She sighed a little bit, she knew of Carlisle's distaste for politics. "My point is that they're now two massive wild cards with some major axes to grind against both the Volturi and this new player. Not only that but now they're not alone. They obviously have, I hesitate to call it an alliance, but clearly they have some kind of truce with the Quileute wolves. Still, when all is said and done they are a fledgling coven with far too much power. Alice alone would level most playing fields, add Isabella and Eliza to that group and to say they are formidable is a bit of an understatement, even if their leader is untested. I think it's very likely they are going to be the ones to throw sabot into the cogs of the war machinery that's spinning up right now. Not to mention, they've got one side wanting them dead already, and I bet they piss off both sides before long."

Her statement seemed to hang in the air for several minutes as Carlisle seemed to process and consider everything he had been told. "What is it you're saying?"

"What I'm saying is that just because things changed today, that does not mean it's the end of the world. Yes, the coven you led split up today, but I'll be honest and say that I'm surprised that a split hadn't happened sooner. As I told you before, even my coven hasn't been as consistent as yours has. Irina and Laurent left for almost 25 years. When Kate met Garrett, I lost them for almost 40 years. They each had their reasons for leaving, and each had their reasons for coming back, but just because they made decisions on their own and those decisions were to leave, doesn't mean that you're helpless to make your own decisions." Tanya's voice was soft, and almost encouraging now.

Carlisle raised his eyes to meet Tanya reluctantly for a moment, before dropping his gaze in defeat. He didn't want to admit that she was right. Rosalie and Emmett had gone off a few times to be a married couple, and so had Jasper and Adara, but never for more than a decade, and never permanently. They had always promised to return, with hugs and smiles. The largest split had come when they left Isabella behind all those years ago, and even then it wasn't for that long.

Finally he turned back towards the window and met her eyes in the reflection. "I'm not sure what to do."

"What is it you want?" Tanya asked quietly.

Carlisle was quiet for several minutes, while Tanya waited for his response. Finally when he spoke, his voice was weary and he slumped a little bit, almost in defeat. "What do I want? I want my wife not to be downstairs nursing a broken heart. I want to not have to worry about being attacked by some bloody army. Most of all, I want…" He trailed off for several long minutes his eyes cast down at his empty hands. Finally he looked back up and clenched his jaw a few times, "I want my family back."

Tanya nodded once, as if it was the answer she had expected. "Well your wife is downstairs, and she needs you, but before you go to her, you have to make a decision."

Carlisle tilted his head as he met her eyes again.

Tanya's voice turned hard, she hated to be the one to tell him or present it to him like this, but at the same time, someone needed to say it. "You have to decide what part of your family you want back."

Her eyes bored into his intently cutting off any reply. "I know you. I told you, your compassion is one of your greatest qualities. You want to all sides to just forgive and for everyone to get along again. Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Adara all left for a reason. It won't be something you can just smooth over between them and Edward. I'm telling this as your friend, and a member of your extended family. You have to pick a side. But chose well; from all appearances, one side will ally you with the Volturi and against Joham. While the other side will puts you in conflict with both."

Tanya's voice cut into Carlisle, and as much as he wanted to deny her words he couldn't. His jaw worked slowly as he stared back out into the night. When he spoke once more his voice was merely a whisper. "What will you do?"

Tanya frowned a little bit. "I'll admit, there are honestly no particularly attractive options available, at least on the surface. We talked about it, and despite some concerns, we have come to our own decision."

Tanya's eyes moved away from Carlisle for the first time since she arrived, instead looking past him to the shadowed forest outside the window. "We know that the Volturi will be coming for their wayward enforcers. They don't take rebellion well at all. I doubt we've done anything that would make them turn their ire toward us for that. However, they're not exactly known for their restraint, and if someone like Jane is leading they might execute us out of spite. That means the most logical option for us is to get the hell out before they arrive."

Tanya ran a hand through her hair and crossed her arms as she shifted her weight back and forth, a clear sign of her agitation, which also came across on her face momentarily. "However, there's a couple of problems with that. The most obvious being; where would we go? Also what would we do? As Garrett brought up in the conversation, what happens if this Joham person decides to come after us again? We were lucky those two were here, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to stop running, and eventually they would have caught us. I doubt that even our combined forces would've been enough to take out that many newborns."

Carlisle turned his head to look at her fully, "So what did you decide?"

Tanya sighed a little bit, "We were split. I wanted to go into hiding, Irina and Laurent thought that was the best idea, let things ride themselves out. Garrett and Kate absolutely refused; they said that one way or the other they were going to stay. They are friends with your family, and don't want to leave them. Besides, you know Garrett… he can't resist a "noble" cause."

Tanya saw Carlisle's mouth twitch in the barest approximation of a smile at her last statement before she continued. "Surprisingly Eleazar and Carmen sided with them. Eleazar said that if there was one thing that the attack on us proved, it was that we can't afford to be neutral, even if we don't know all the players. So we're going to stay in the area. Garrett and Kate are going to try talking to your children, and to this… Isabella, to see if we can come to some sort of arrangement. Though for the moment we were planning on staying here… if we're still welcome."

"You know you don't even have to ask." Carlisle's response was out of his mouth almost before Tanya had finished the sentence.

Tanya nodded with a happy smile, she didn't feel it was right to just assume they were welcome.

Silence descended on the room, neither one wanting to intrude on the thoughts of the other. Finally, Tanya spoke up, not wanting him to sink down into the same thoughts he had before, "What are you thinking?"

Carlisle squared his shoulders and looked up at Tanya, "I think I need to talk to Esme."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Carlisle stepped up to the doorway of Esme's private studio. Despite the fact that they were married, both of them had long ago come to the mutual realization that they each just needed their own space at times. Whether it was to work, or indulge in a hobby, or just have time with their own thoughts. This room was her private area, and served as more than just a studio, it was also a gallery, and held all of her most prized possessions.

One part of the room was dominated by a drafting table with a large aged wooden top, stained a light tan. In the center of the wooden top was a plate of white backed glass, although it was currently covered by several large sheets of paper. The legs were wrought iron and finely detailed. It was clearly old, and very well maintained. The stool that usually sat next to it was instead placed by the massive easel that dominated the other side of the room. Esme was sitting forward on the stool, painting furiously in harsh brush strokes. The canvas depressing with each swipe of her brush.

She beat the brush against the easel after dipping it in turpentine, then quickly mixed a new color on her palette from several blobs of oil paint. The speed and precision of her work always impressed Carlisle, even though she was supernatural, he marveled at her technique. Not that he could see her work from this angle, the easel was facing the far window, leaving whatever she was painting obscured from view.

He knew that Esme was aware of his presence, since he'd made no attempt to hide his approach. However she made no move to acknowledge him. He assumed she was painting a landscape portrait, letting her mind focus on a vista she'd seen, which was an outlet for her. A method that gave her a chance to calm down. It was something she did on the rare occasions when she got truly upset, or angry.

Almost unconsciously his eyes drifted to the walls of the room, and the bigger than life size portraits that hung there above the chair rail. They almost always captured people's attentions when they entered the room. Drawn to one or another, they almost inevitably drew compliments on their exquisite detail and haunting realistic quality. Very few humans had seen them, and those that had were convinced they were photographs, because they were so breathtakingly beautiful. Done with details far beyond what any human could hope to replicate. Even more, Esme didn't have to rely on someone holding a pose. Instead, she used the perfect memory that all vampires had, which allowed her to pick the pose and expression that most spoke to her.

Carlisle allowed his eyes to trail over each painting. They were so lifelike, they looked almost like the real person was sitting in the frame. In a lot of ways she had captured a split second of the past, as if these paintings were window's into the subject's very soul. For Carlisle they sent a shiver of pain up his spine, because almost every painting was of a member of their family. He let his gaze sweep across the room faster than usual, normally he would admire Esme's talent, but today he was too much in pain to be reminded of the people they represented. Except something stopped him in mid-sweep.

Two large blank spaces stood out where portraits had once been hung.

One of them was the only portrait of someone who wasn't technically a part of their family, but should've been. That portrait was the reason that Edward seemed to avoid Esme's gallery like the plague no matter where they moved. After the events of the day, so many pieces fell into place. Little things that made no sense to him before, or things that didn't seem to connect, now stood out like glaring red flags. Carlisle had always had his suspicions that Alice spent time in this room, but the time she spent in here was erratic. It didn't seem to be predictable in any fashion that he could detect. Now all of a sudden it did. Alice spent as much time as she could in this room, time when Edward was away for any reason.

It was Isabella's portrait. It struck him that it might be the last remaining image of her as a human.

It showed her as the nervous and shy girl they once knew. The awkward smile on her face, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling with mirth, and mild irritation. Esme had created the painting almost immediately after they left Forks all those years ago, when Bella had decided not to join them. Esme mentioned in passing to Carlisle one day, that Edward had argued with her once about having the painting up at all. Esme had told him in no uncertain terms that this was her private space, and that no matter what happened, Esme would always consider Isabella a daughter to her.

Carlisle understood both sides of the argument; however he felt that the coldness between the two that stretched two or three years after was a little bit extreme. Then again, maybe she felt something in his actions that created the gap in their relationship. A gap that had never fully been healed.

But now the picture was gone and in its space was nothing. Beneath the empty space, bent in half was the frame for the picture. The portrait was still inside and folded in half neatly right along Isabella's mouth. It left just her brown eyes showing, as if she were staring into the room.

The other portrait that she tore down was of Edward. It too was on the ground beneath the space that it had formerly been occupying. There was a difference though, whereas Isabella's portrait was simply snapped in half, Edward's image was absolutely shredded into pieces. The scraps of canvas were lying in a pile beneath splintered frame, with tattered bits of fabric still clinging to the few sections of the frame left intact.

Carlisle stepped into the room and moved up until he could see his wife working on the canvas in front of her, though he still couldn't see the canvas itself. Her expression didn't surprise him. He felt another stab of pain when he took in the look of unbearable hurt that was on his mate's face. That hurt was mixed with a dreadful anger, mirrored in her frenzied painting.

It was an emotion Esme rarely expressed so he didn't really know how to approach her. He wished he could reach out and take those negative emotions into himself for her, to blot out her pain. Not that he was sure he could bear it himself, but if he could, he would, without a second's hesitation.

He stopped halfway across the room, without intruding on what she was working on. When it became apparent to Carlisle that she wasn't going to talk, he broke the silence, "Are you that angry with her, that you tore her down from the wall?" His voice was soft and gentle as his focus was now completely on his wife.

Esme's response was not what he expected. Her head shot over to glare at him, and a sneer of pure rage passed over her face. For the first time in his life Carlisle was almost afraid of his wife.

"I'm not angry with _her._" Esme practically spit out at him, though the movement of her brush didn't slow down for an instant as she repeated the process of cleaning the brush mixing a new color.

An expression of confusion crossed Carlisle's face, "Then why did you did tear her portrait down?"

Esme's brush stopped moving the instant Carlisle's question left his lips. She froze for a moment, then she carefully set the brush down, then her head lowered and her shoulders slumped. "Because… that's … that's not her anymore. She's not the same."

Her voice sounded so hurt that Carlisle immediately moved toward her and wrapped her gently in his arms. She didn't try and resist, instead her fingers curled into Carlisle's shirt and she squeezed the fabric tightly enough that he felt the seams start to give way under her grip.

Finally he let his eyes fall upon the portrait she had been painting. As always it was a masterpiece, even if she had only finished the face, neck, and hair, and none of the background. He couldn't deny that it was accurate. The image was of Isabella as she was now, ruby red eyes starting out intently with her relentless intensity captured perfectly. The expression on her face was one of mild anger and a hint of accusation. He could almost imagine the portrait begin to move as it started an angry or biting tirade.

Carlisle wanted to tell her, to reassure her that Isabella would forgive, she would eventually let that anger go. He wanted to reassure his wife that they weren't shut out forever. That this woman she'd always thought of as a daughter would come back to her. He wanted to reassure her that what had happened was just a temporary disagreement. He wanted to say all of those things. But he didn't. He couldn't. He wasn't sure he could lie that well.

Instead he looked over at the remains of Edward's canvas and frowned. "And his?"

She suddenly pushed him away from him, with a hiss of anger. Carlisle stared at her a little stunned, she'd had rarely expressed her vampire instincts vocally. That was a sign of pure fury. It was a measure beyond anger or even rage, it was deep and internal, primal. The kind of emotion reserved for only the deepest hurt, unadulterated burning hate, or the purest love.

Esme's hiss was loud enough to stir the rest of the house, and Tanya whispered a soft cry of concern. Esme shot a look down at the floor in her direction, but didn't say a word. Instead she looked back at Carlisle and fixed him with a glare that could level a mountain. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't quite figure out how to modulate her tone so that the house wouldn't crumble from the power of it. After a few moments she restorted to a harsh whisper. "That… that… _thing_ is not my son. He's dead to me." She bit off into a long snarl as her rage got the best of her momentarily.

Carlisle kept his voice soothing. "Esme, I know you're upset but he's not entirely at fault for-"

"Don't. You. Dare!" Esme, although growling, managed to enunciate each word clearly as she cut Carlisle's protest off.

Carlisle started to object, but she held up a hand and calmed herself down enough to respond in a manner that was quite a bit closer to rational. "Whatever he is, _that_ is not the man we helped to raise together. He isn't lost, he isn't demented. He's manipulated this family and concealed his true self from us. In return for two centuries of love, he's turned against us in the most vile way imaginable. Isabella was right to do what she did, I only wish she had ended him. She showed him more mercy than I would have knowing what he's done to my family."

She paused, taking in Carlisle's shocked expression and addressed him specifically. "I _heard_ the argument you had with Jasper and Edward, and then I put two and two together. Something clicked in place, something that has been bothering me since we left that day. When I _heard _what he said about our daughters, I knew he lied. He lied about Bella's wishes all those years ago."

Her shoulders began to heave as the rage that she'd just barely leashed, began to assert itself again. "He did something to Alice too, something so horrible that when she learned the truth of it, that truth forced her to leave without a second thought. The only thing I can think of is the one thing that I just couldn't believe... at first. I think Alice had some kind of vision, a vision perhaps of her and Bella together. A vision that Edward saw and prevented from happening."

Esme stared at Carlisle, his expression remain shocked and uncomprehending. Her voice rose, this time careless of who might hear her. "Don't you get it, he destroyed her life, all of our lives, for what? Spite, ignorance, intolerance ... pure greed... hate? I don't know, and after today I don't want to. He's directly responsible for what Bella has become, it's his fault and ours. We... abandoned her. He forced me to abandon my daughter. Which is something I'll carry forever. A pain that can never be erased, even if she's gracious enough to accept us back into her life."

Her voice dropped to harsh tones once more. "I don't know what's happened to her, I can't imagine what happened that's turned her so dark, but it had to be horrible. It had to be something that tore away at her to such a degree that she's a shadow of what she was before. For that alone he's a monster. After hearing what he wanted the Volturi to do with our daughters, well that's reprehensible. There is absolutely no defense you can give me that would excuse his actions. There is nothing you can say that would even allow me to consider forgiving him, not now, not ever. So yes, he is dead to me."

Carlisle opened his mouth to protest, but... there was nothing he could say to refute her tirade. She was absolutely right. As much as it had been paining Carlisle to consider it, admitting it was even worse, but he couldn't hide from the truth. Edward had gone too far, he had done too much. If his wife was right about what he did to Alice, that created a pattern of deceit stretching back over at least a century. How long had he been concealing things, how often had he used his knowledge of their thoughts to manipulate them?

Esme's anger started to ebb away, and she slumped again, shaking her head. "I want to go to her. I want to beg her to forgive us. I want to hold her and tell her I love her. I want to take back the last century, I want... I want my Bella back. She's gone isn't she... I'm never going to get her back am I? I should've known then, I should've known it was a lie. I knew what she wanted. I knew how stubborn she was. Now... we've lost our entire family to him, to his selfishness. God, what are we going to do?"

Carlisle shook his head slightly and pulled Esme into tight hug. The earlier conversation with Tanya rang in his head. He took several moments before responding. His voice was steady despite itself. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to stay here, with the Denali. We aren't going to chase after our children. They need a chance to live, without our shadows hanging above them, or our hands held out below them as a net to catch them if they fail. I know they aren't children, as much as I want to see them that way, but we can't be in charge anymore. We have to trust that they'll make the right choices, but we're not going to abandon them either. If they need us, and I think they will in the days to come, we'll be there. We'll always be family."

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**Author's notes: Yay! Chapter!**

**1) I'm sure some of you would be irritated by this chapter. Wanting to get right back to Alice/Bella. But other things have been happening and we needed to bring light to those.**

**For those of you reviewers who felt bad for Esme especially, i thought we should get a look at her character. Also, for those of you who thought I just had the Denali just kinda hanging around... BWAHAHAHA! Many plans coming down the line. As for Carlisle and Esme... will they reconcile with Bella? We'll see. ^_^ It ought to be fun at least. I do however hope you got insight into the family, into their reactions. I hope you liked them.**

**2) As for Michele, I'm hoping you like her character. It felt off to both Samantha and I that Jacob wouldn't have any family. Well this is a double bonus, a glimpse into the method of Joham's lower ranks, as well as a kick off point for Michele. Seriously... if Leah, Seth, Jacob and co weren't upset before. Even unknowningly, what they tried with Jacob's daughter? Shit just got real! O_O **

**3) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: Well, at least we kept our promise and got this one out sooner! This chapter was very much needed, even if it does delay the progress of some other plot lines. I'm personally very proud of the way Esme and Carlisle came to realize how horrible Edward is (mostly Kathryn). Also, blame me entirely for Michele, I came up with the character. Although I think her section does provide some insight into the way the Joham's side functions, to a limited extent at least. Until next time!**

**4) Samantha is, as always, an amazing person to collaborate with. Half the time's she's the heart in this story, the other half she's the mind. Also, for those of you who haven't given it a shot, she's begun rewriting her Secrets and Convenants story, and started reposting chapters going in a whole new direction. I'm happy to be her secondary for it! If you're at all curious, go take a look! It's worth a read. (Probably easiest to do an Author search for Samantha Minuet)**

**5) Also, we're collaborating on another fic, that may soon see the light of day. This one will be a Harry Potter fic (tentatively titled Harry Potter and the Hand of Sorrow.) and do alot of playing around in that universe. So those of you who enjoy our writing, I'll hope you'll give it a shot. Hopefully it won't be too much a retread of other fics. It's not up yet, but soon. Though the updates for this story may come slower. We've still got a long way to go. So never fear! :D **

**6) Can you spot the Star Trek reference in this chapter? First reviewer who does gets a sharp-eyed shout out in the next chapter!**

**7) As always we love reviews! If you give a particularly long or amazing review even if you dislike a chapter, we shoot you a message to talk about it!**

**Read and Review!**


	45. The Beginning

**Chapter 45**

**You walked in the garden **

**with ghosts tangled up in your hair**

**with shadows of I'm sorry's **

**following your footsteps.**

**As you walk down the stairs**

**your green eyes are emeralds **

**except when you cry they are grey.**

**I can't stand the way that you're **

**holding my gaze so I'm ****sorry, **

**my darling, for turning away.**

Isabella felt the darkness recede slowly, as she returned to consciousness. She hadn't even opened her eyes before she realized that she felt_ different_. Although that change was hard to quantify. She couldn't figure out how to define it. When she did open her eyes to take stock of her surroundings, she found herself staring directly into a pair of brilliant emerald eyes. The eyes seemed to be so vibrant that it seemed as if they were practically glowing.

However, on second look, Isabella realized that it wasn't because the eyes in front of her were so vibrant that they were glowing themselves, instead it was Alice's face that seemed to have a iridescent quality to it. A sheen of happiness had been applied to her flawless skin like a clear gloss. Alice's eyes, which had been amber for as long as Isabella had known her, were now so vibrantly green that anyone looking at them might have trouble believing they were natural. In truth, Isabella wasn't even sure that they would be able to pass them off as contacts.

It only took Isabella a second to expand her focus so she could take in all of hovering figure above her. It forced her to re-evaluate her opinion, it wasn't just Alice's face that was glowing, it was Alice herself, and it wasn't the glow they put off when hit by direct sunlight, rather it just seemed her entire body was practically aglow with unadulterated joy.

Still, it was hard to tell which was more powerful, the look of happiness and contentment on Alice's face, or the well of that same emotion coming through their new psychic link.

Not that it mattered to Isabella, simply being in Alice's presence made her feel a bit euphoric. So Isabella just let herself take in her new partner for several indulgent moments. She was radiant, glorious, and above all real. They were out of that dream, they were awake, it didn't matter what visions they saw, all that mattered was the here and now, and right in that moment Alice's body was nestled on top of Isabella's in just the right way.

Isabella let her senses take in the other changes Alice had gone through because of her bite. Some were so minute that they might be unnoticed by all. However, Isabella had spent more than a little time thinking about Alice of late, so even the tiny changes were obvious to her.

Besides the difference in eye color, the second thing that Isabella noticed was that Alice's skin was slightly less pale. Although still creamy white, her skin no longer seemed to have the same kind of chalk white consistency that older vampires developed. Her hair was still as glossy, and pitch black like raven's feathers, but Isabella could tell that it was several inches longer, and it framed her face in a striking fashion. The length helping to soften her narrow and angular features.

Their bodies were still on the slightly damp ground, nestled between two roots of a Sitka Spruce tree they had collapsed against when Isabella had given into her impulses. Of course the thing that Isabella couldn't stop noticing was how _perfectly_ the two of them fit together. It made her smile in spite of herself, and she couldn't help but revel in that little detail, because it felt as if they were literally made for each other.

Slowly, Isabella reached up with a tentative hand, partially afraid that if she touched Alice's face, reality would shatter around her, and then come crashing down. The thought that she was a simple touch of away from destroying this blissful scene terrified her to her core. More than she could ever admit to anyone. To find herself back in that dreadful hole, full of hopeless nightmares, wasn't something she could even really consider. So she reached forward anyway, ignoring the fear balling her stomach up in knots.

She almost flinched when the tips of one hand brushed gently across the skin of Alice's cheek, but that touch was enough to tell her that she wasn't in a dream. She was sure that everything wouldn't fade away, but instant of fear had shaken her horribly. The possibility that everything could be lost again, that she could be trapped in that horrible hell again, made rationality feel very far way. But as she pressed hand closer to Alice's face, and then began to trace the tip of her index finger along Alice's jaw, reveling in the simple contact, somehow she instinctively knew that there was no need to be afraid. That nightmare was just that, a nightmare, that was long past time to be forgotten.

At the moment she couldn't hear any specific thoughts from Alice, or any words, just a raw outpouring of unrestrained joy and contentment. Isabella was still spinning in a jumble of her own chaotic thoughts, and fractured emotions. It was a struggle for her to even begin to sort out how she was feeling, so not hearing Alice's every thought was probably a good thing.

Then in what Isabella would later regard as one of her top three least eloquent moments of all time, she finally got up the nerve to speak. "Hi…"

Alice laughed, and it was a bright, amused, twinkling sound. Instead of immediately responding verbally, Alice slid her body forward against Isabella's and captured her lips with a gentle kiss, but one full of emotion. Even that gentle kiss sent electricity pulsing through both of them, their bodies practically vibrating in response to one another's touch.

The kiss lasted for several moments before Alice pulled back a bit and murmured softly in reply. Her voice full of heady laughter and dizzy amusement, "Hi yourself…"

Isabella found a grin forcing its way onto her face, and she traced her fingers down her mate's jaw line. That thought alone was enough to cause Isabella's fingers to stop for just a moment, as the enormity of that sentiment settled in her mind. _Her mate._

"Mine…" Isabella found herself saying possessively.

Alice's eyes were locked on Isabella's, and when she heard that word, she nodded with a wide grin on her face. She took a moment to turn her head to kiss the palm of Isabella's hand as her fingers continued to dance around Alice's jaw and neck. Then she brought her own hand up to follow the contours of Isabella's face, unconsciously mimicking Isabella's movements with her own. "Yours."

Isabella's eyes widened as Alice said that, and it finally hit her. Why she was feeling so different. She wasn't _angry_. It wasn't that her anger was gone, or that she was incapable of feeling it. For the first time… in as long as she could remember, she wasn't internally raging.

The beast was asleep.

Her long struggle to keep from losing control was silenced. It had been a battle every second of every day to keep a constant focus on her rage. One instant of lost control, and she could fly into a blind frenzy that would leave utter devastation in its wake. She knew the beast was still inside of her. Yet it wasn't working endlessly to get free, to be unleashed. It wasn't screaming at her with needs that she could barely comprehend. Taunting her to take back the flesh that had been seared and ripped open by Victoria. Or the malicious laughter it teased her with, that echoed in her ears in the endless hours of night. Laughter which sometimes sounded like her own tortured cries and insane ramblings which were her only company during her time in darkness.

The beast that pushed her to destroy instead of showing mercy. It had kept her monstrous for decades, which made her push away everything that could make her feel. She even had to keep her own daughter at arm's length most of the time. All of that was tied to a perverse desire, the food the beast craved, which was ultimately just a pointless game to keep her from ever reclaiming a sense of self that had been shattered and stolen by Edward. Although the beast wasn't active, she could still feel it's cold force of will, and it was still _demanding, _but it was no longer as _commanding_.

It was a relief to be free from it, even though she was sure it wasn't going to be a long reprieve. The only explanation she could fathom for this change, was that she had finally found her mate. She shook off the internal contemplation and returned her focus towards Alice. The sense of possession, of primal need had vanished as well. This was a far more complex emotion, and it was terrifying. Still, she couldn't run from it, and she didn't want to hide from it anymore. The floodgates had been opened, and if she didn't try and hold on she was sure she was going to be swept up in the current, where she was sure to give into her anger again.

"_Mine._" Isabella whispered again. The word was the same, except this time when Isabella said it, it was neither possessive or defensive. This time when she spoke the word, it was filled with reverence and a genuine adulation, combined with the awe and wonder of an impossible dream coming true.

Alice smiled, and tightened her grip on Isabella's jaw, brushing her thumb slowly over her cheek. Then Alice nodded again, with a small wistful smile. She took a deep breath, and when she spoke her voice was full of such emotion, that it startled her. "Yours."

In that moment Alice realized she felt more deeply than she ever had before. She wasn't just in love, she was absolutely sure of the depth of that love. There was no doubt, or hesitation in her heart. She was Isabella's, body and soul, and apparently mind as well.

Isabella pulled back and locked her ruby eyes on Alice's intense emerald eyes. Very slowly she reached up and laid her hand over Alice's hand, that still rested on her cheek. Then she slowly dragged Alice's hand away from her face. Alice frowned slightly, but she didn't look hurt. Inch by inch, Isabella guided Alice's hand down the left side of neck, and over her collarbone, enjoying the feeling of Alice's fingers against her skin which felt slightly softer than they had been when she was a normal vampire.

Alice watched with genuine curiosity, since she didn't want to intrude on Isabella's thoughts in that moment. Her own impulse was the press against Isabella's flesh as her fingers grazed Isabella's body. She wanted more of her, it was a greedy desire, but it felt like an important one. But she didn't give into those impulses, because of how Isabella had reacted earlier. She didn't want to cause another attack of fear.

Isabella almost grinned at the thoughts being broadcast from a very nervous Alice. She just knew that it didn't matter where or how Alice touched her, nothing she did would dredge up that fear again. So she confidently continued to guide Alice's hand a bit further downward, and then pressed that hand down so it flattened on the upper left side of her chest, just above the swell of her breast, so that it was resting over her heart. She locked her eyes on Alice's for several long moments, and then in a voice that was full of emotion and vulnerability, but was no less intense because of it, she whispered, "Yours."

It took Alice less than a second to figure out what Isabella was telling her. Isabella was saying in her own simple and direct way that, quite simply her heart belonged to Alice.

Emotions welled up even higher inside Alice, to place she didn't even know existed. Without words Isabella had just declared her love. For nearly a century, Alice had dreamed of that moment. Fantasizing endlessly in a destructive loop, about a life that couldn't possibly exist. She had spent all those years thinking that she had forever missed her chance, that half of her heart could never be recovered. She spent those solitary years in self flagellation for allowing herself give up on Isabella. Yet somehow, now after all that time, after all those moments of hopeless despair, Isabella was finally and unbelievably, _hers. _

All those years ago, when Isabella had told her that she loved her; Alice had held onto that memory as one of the best moments of her life. Even though those words hadn't meant what Alice wanted them to mean, her perfect memory hadn't dimmed in the slightest. She could recall the details of that instant in time whenever she wanted to, but hadn't actually lingered on them for decades. Not until Isabella had come back into her life. Then it was all she could do not to dwell on that moment.

That was the start, that innocent expression of familial devotion said in a moment of friendship. That small moment in time was insignificant after everything else that had happened in the intervening years, but for Alice, it could work as an appropriate voice for what Isabella wasn't saying. Alice closed her eyes and listened to the memory, hearing the echo of the past reflected in the physical gesture of love Isabella was displaying. It was enough, it was what she needed deep in her soul, even though she hadn't realized it was a need. She knew without any doubt that Isabella was telling her with every fiber of her being, that she belonged to Alice too.

Alice wanted to give into the urges, to fulfill a century of unrequited need. She wanted to scream to the world how much she loved the woman underneath her. Instead she brought Isabella's hand back up to her face, and turned her head slightly to nuzzle into Isabella's hand again, but she didn't break eye contact. She could feel her whole being was buzzing, and it was getting to a point where she couldn't stand it any longer. It was too much, not only did she finally have her beloved in her arms, but her long lost past had finally come back to her.

Then a lock of her hair spilled out over Isabella's hand and Alice's eye focused on it for a moment, trying to grasp what she was looking at before she gasped in shock.

"I... my hair!" She sat back without thinking, pulling away from Isabella who let out a soft moan of playful disappointment and amusement. Alice's hand moved to her head, and she ran her fingers through her glossy black locks. "Did you do this? Can I grow it again!?"

Isabella furrowed her brow, and remembered her years before Eliza. It had never occurred to her that Alice would hate her hair, because as an unchanging vampire it was forever frozen at the length it was in the moment of her transformation. Being around the Volturi, they had been careful to try and keep most of the changes to themselves. Even before Isabella had gotten to hear Eliza's insightful political acumen, she knew that Caius would take every small difference as growing evidence to have them killed. So they were pretty careful to keep their hair the same length.

Slowly Isabella started to nod, "Yes, actually it seems to grow a bit faster than humans. We've never really tested to see why, since it's not like we're shedding a lot of dead cells or anything. It's actually kind of a pain if you want to know the tru-." The rest of Isabella's statement was cut off as Alice fell into her arms again and kissed her hard with a child-like enthusiasm.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Alice said between kisses.

"I'm... glad... you're... happy... maybe... I shouldn't... mention... that... your eyes are green now." Isabella managed to get out between Alice's frantic expressions of gratitude. That made Alice freeze, and she pulled back a few inches to meet Isabella increasingly joyful gaze.

"Green, my eyes are green? That's the same color they were when I was human!" Alice was practically bubbling with excitement, as she continued, "I was going to say something about your eyes too."

Isabella frowned at that, tilting her head curiously to regard Alice. "What about my eyes?"

Alice frowned a little bit, her expression intent as she stared into Isabella's eyes, "Your eyes are different than they were before too. They were a dark red… kind of crimson like most vampires, now they're a bright red. Ruby red rather than blood red, if that makes sense. Kind of like Rosalie's Porsche from way back when."

Isabella frowned a little bit further, and then shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I don't know."

"Will my eyes go back to yellow after I feed a few times?" Alice asked, her voice tinged with curiosity now, and a slight hint of hope. Although if her eyes shifted back yellow it wouldn't be the end of the world. Still, it was nice to have a piece of her human life back, and she couldn't deny the fact that she liked to be different, no matter how subtly. In the end though, she mostly she just wanted to know.

Isabella shrugged a little bit. "I'm not sure. I have some thoughts on the matter though, since Eliza eyes have never shifted color due to her diet, and neither have mine until now. Which I'm pretty sure has something to do with you."

Alice tilted her head curiously again, "I thought you both drank human blood from blood packs."

Isabella nodded a little bit, "That's our normal diet. Occasionally we have to go off of it though. A couple of years ago we had a rogue vampire we were sent to deal with in the jungles of Africa. The bastard was leaving bloodless corpses everywhere. Eliza and I had to live off of animals for almost a month while we hunted him down. No change in eye color. Eliza did discover that she hated reptile blood and somehow, despite the fact that she has nothing to fear, is terrified of snakes in general. Also she discovered that just because hippopotamus means 'river horse', does not mean they can be ridden, but that's an entirely different story."

Alice snorted in amusement before the wide genuine smile returned to her face, her voice taking on an awed tone. "Green eyes. I... it's… I don't know what to say. Without you I would never have known. God this is so... awesome!" Alice flinched at using such an outdated word, but the cringe was short lived when she felt warm tears flush into her tear ducts.

To Alice, although it was a simple thing, it was such an alien sensation that she froze again, before she tentatively reached a shaky hand up to her eyes, and wiped the clear liquid away with a finger. "I can cry again? What else?" Alice's goofy grin started to grow wider.

Isabella found herself captivated by the tears as Alice wiped them away from her eyes. It distracted her enough that her reply was several seconds in coming, "Yes… it doesn't happen often, but we can cry. Only when we are overwhelmed with extreme emotions like you are now. I can count on one hand the number of times that's happened for both Eliza and I."

Isabella paused and looked thoughtful, listing one or two main differences was always easy, but listing all the differences was slightly more challenging. "The rest, well… you've seen us in action. There are physical differences. We're stronger than any newborn, and yet we're still faster than ancients."

Isabella frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Actually that brings up a good point. Don't be disappointed if you're not as fast or as strong as Eliza and I are right away. Eliza and I have actually debated this between ourselves for years. We're genuinely not sure whether it is that we continue to grow faster and stronger as we age, or if it has to do with our bodies actually changing and adapting to things as we train, or maybe it's a mixture of both. I'm not saying the changes are huge or anything, but they're noticeable to both of us. We move more quickly and are stronger now than, when I began training Eliza almost seventy-five years ago."

Alice nodded slowly, her expression turning contemplative as she considered the physical actions she had seen from Isabella already, and melded it with the stuff Isabella had just told her. After a moment she shrugged, it wasn't like she could change what happened even if she wanted to.

After seeing that Alice took that bit of information in stride, Isabella continued. "Most of the rest of the major stuff you've already sort of seen or probably figured out."

Isabella began to tick stuff off on her fingers, "We have a mental link that we can use to share thoughts and feelings and to a certain extent, powers. You've seen that we no longer sparkle, it's more of a gentle glow, but not to the same degree of iridescence. It's subdued enough that we can even go out on clear days and avoid attracting attention as long as we avoid direct sunlight. We tend to err on the side of caution though. It doesn't have to be grey out, but some overcast is a good idea."

Alice was nodding as Isabella listed those things off, she had already seen some of that first hand, so it hardly came as a shock.

"Our bodies seem to be far more efficient with blood, which means we don't need to feed nearly as often, and we don't have to take as much. We can control our venom to a greater degree, and we don't lose control when feeding. Also we now have evidence that both Eliza and my venom apparently can change a vampire into whatever the hell we are now. I'm not sure if yours will do the same or not, but I'm guessing it probably does, so watch out for that. In other words the family rule now applies to you, no biting other vampires." Isabella said thoughtfully, she was trying to make sure that Alice understood everything about the changes, although she felt a bit like she was rambling. Although she couldn't stop the slight smile from crossing her face as she repeated the same rule she laid down to Eliza after Bree.

"What about humans? How does our venom affect them?" Alice asked tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

"I honestly have no idea. We try to avoid feeding on humans if at all possible. Oh, that reminds me. One last thing. Our thirst is very different. We still feel it, but it's more like… human hunger, there is no pain. You'll never have to fear your impulses around humans again. It makes things easier, I think that's why we never worried about taking the blood from an occasional human. We don't necessarily have to kill." As Isabella explained, Alice's smile somehow grew wider and wider, until she looked almost like the Cheshire cat.

Before Alice could interject, Isabella's voice turned thoughtful and speculative. "Honestly that's another thing Eliza and I have debated. Because both of us spent so many formative years starving for blood, when I bit her originally, and we changed… or _evolved_ if you will… we think our blood efficiency is one of the things that we evolved to avoid. That's her theory anyway. I just think it's because we're different, but Eliza likes to have reasons for things. 'It just is.' is never a phrase she blindly accepts."

"I'll keep that in mind. I'm fairly certain we'll be around other humans sooner rather than later, so it'll be put to the test soon enough." Then she cocked her head again, as one of the things Isabella said seemed to penetrate. "So you can hear my thoughts? Is it all the time?**"** Alice asked curiously.

"Yes, we can communicate mentally from wherever we are, since distance is not a factor. I could be on the other side of the planet and I we could still hold a conversation through our link, if we wanted to." Isabella replied honestly.

Alice frowned. "But I'm not hearing any thoughts from you right now. Or Eliza or Bree for that matter. I mean, I can feel you..." Alice broke off as a smile crossed her face, and she even shivered slightly in pleasure at that, before continuing, "But I'm not hearing a stream of consciousness or anything."

"You can learn to narrow the connection so that you can keep most thoughts to yourself, so it's not like you never have privacy. You can also focus on blocking most things out. Which I never really worried about until recently." Isabella's thoughts drifted and conjured Eliza's face, followed by an image of Leah's, and the emotions and sensations Eliza had been broadcasting earlier when they were being intimate.

Alice blinked and then started to giggle softly. "Yeah, I imagine that would be majorly awkward."

Alice frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Does… that mean we have to… um… hold back?" Alice asked with a slight tilt of her head. Although she played it off as innocent, Isabella could see the fire in her eyes, and the intense desire coming through their link. She was asking for far more than just kissing.

Rather than respond verbally, Isabella cupped Alice's cheek a moment before running her hand back into Alice's hair, fingers trailing through her dark mane slowly. She just let them both enjoy the physical sensation of touching one another. Isabella wanted to make it clear that she had no intention of holding back. Not now. Not with Alice. As her fingers threaded through Alice's hair, she paused to consider the sensation. She had always known Alice with her hair short enough to be spiked out. Now it was down past her chin, curling into the shadowed valley of her throat where the muscles met at the clavicle. The rough edges of the hair reminded Isabella of her own methods for cutting off her own auburn colored locks.

She and Eliza were always utilitarian about cutting their hair. They simply swiped it off with a blade every week. She idly wondered if Alice would start trying to drag them to salons to get their hair done properly.

"Abso-fucking-lutely. The ends of your hair are butchered. It's like you use a weedwacker or something." Alice responded to Isabella's thoughts without realizing she had eavesdropped. She winced slightly, wondering if her teasing would come across as mean-spirited but smiled in confidence when Isabella just sighed in mock-exasperation.

"I guess I'm hearing stuff now." Alice added before Isabella could respond.

"I was wondering when you would. I'm good at keeping thoughts contained, though I'm not perfect. And to be honest, a sharp blade has always worked fine for me." Isabella retorted with a frown. Her response was halfhearted at best. She already knew it was a pointless argument.

"Then why argue it at all it." Alice asked, responding to Isabella's internal shrug. Then she leaned forward and kissed Isabella softly, making her melt a little. Isabella had never found it so hard to be resolute.

"Because I don't want you to completely dictate how I do things. God knows you'd try and have me in dresses every day of the week" Isabella said gathering her wits for a moment and grumbling in a good natured way. Her tone making it clear that she didn't really think that's what Alice was trying to do

Alice's response however, was serious and emphatic. "Never. It's your choice, always."

After a brief pause her voice turned more lighthearted. "If you want to keep your hair ratty, well I'll adjust, grumpily, but I will. Anyway, it'll be a while before I want to get it cut. I'm going to let it grow out. I've had short hair for almost two hundred years, and it wasn't even my choice. The fucking orderlies chopped it all off when I went into the asylum." Alice shook her head and shifted her mouth from a slight frown to a seductive smile, as she pressed her body down into Isabella's. "Not to change the subject, but you were answering me about holding back?"

"I don't think I give a shit who can hear us right now." Isabella felt Alice's renewed desire through their bond as Isabella pulled her down to renew their kiss, this one filled with more heat.

Alice started to tremble, and Isabella sent her own desire through the connection. The matching emotions were difficult to process for both of them, but it served to only heighten the intensity of what was about to happen.

They could both feel Eliza and Bree making a conscious effort to shut down their sides of the connection, in a subtle gesture of privacy and respect. Alice didn't really get it, but Isabella smiled and pulled her new lover to her tightly.

They smashed their mouths together greedily, their inhibitions falling by the wayside as they began letting the longing they both felt for one another come through. Then the slight physical changes seemed to come through in that moment. Alice shuddered, overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of physical sensations. She had never made love as a human, and as a vampire it was a wholly tactile experience.

Now it wasn't just her body that was responding, nor was it just Isabella's touches she was responding to. Alice could feel all of her, and her emotions sent waves of tingling over her skin, and up and down her legs and arms. Her whole body responded to Isabella in a way that she didn't think was possible. Tears began to fall again, and briefly, delighted laughter. She couldn't stop, it was too much.

Isabella kept going, she had to. For her it was more than just emotions, it was more than just physicality. This was something she had never felt. It was pure. It was raw. It was vulnerability that wasn't weakness. She reveled in it, opening herself up to this other person. She had never known that being exposed, and letting someone in could feel so amazing.

The kiss had no rhyme or reason, it was a mess. Lips and hands, bodies pressing against one another so hard that a lump of coal could've be rendered into a diamond from the pressure they were creating between them. Alice's hands moved through Isabella's hair, luxuriating in the feel of it, pulling her into the kiss.

Isabella groaned softly into Alice's mouth, one of her arms slid around Alice's waist, pulling her in even tighter somehow, the other sliding through Alice's hair. The two of them moved slowly against one another. Their bodies shifting to match each other, as the kiss intensified even more.

Neither of them noticed the two sets of eyes that watched them quietly from a distance. They didn't see the smile that adorned Rosalie's face. It was a smile of happiness for the young couple. It was replaced by a look of mild irritation when Rosalie noticed the overly goofy smile on Emmett's face. In a show of mock anger Rosalie reached up and smacked the back of his head lightly, before gripping his arm and pulling him away. He didn't make a sound, nor did he protest, the amusement that widened is smile told her that he had been smiling like that intentionally more to get a rise out of her than anything. He was as happy for them as she was. The moved far enough away to not intrude, but not so far that they left them vulnerable to attack.

Isabella and Alice continued to kiss, lost in their private world, and totally oblivious to their surroundings. It didn't take long for the kiss to change, as their hands began to wonder. Soon clothes began to be shed, without real thought to keeping them in one piece.

With a feverish need, shirts and pants were tossed negligently to the side. It seemed that the more skin that they bared to one another, the more impatient they both got. Underwear disappeared in a blur of ripped and shredded fabric. They both held their breaths as they stared into each other eyes, this was the moment they had both been waiting for.

Isabella let out a soft sigh of anticipation, and mild irritation when Alice reluctantly pulled away from her. She sat back and posed, putting her hand over her head to evoke the image of a pinup model. Isabella grinned, and sighed again.

Isabella slid her eyes down Alice's neck, still able to make out the faint marks on Alice's skin where she bit her earlier. Her eyes moved downward, over her collarbone, lingering on Alice's full breasts, and the pale pink of her nipples, before continuing on downward. Isabella's eyes roamed over her narrow ribcage, and waist, where her hips flared out slightly, to the junction in the vee of her legs, and the small patch of black hair there. Then finally down the skin of her legs before letting her eyes reverse their course back up her body.

No matter how long she lived she was sure that it was an image that would forever be seared into her mind. She relished every second of it. She let the only word that came to mind escape her throat.

"Perfect." To her eyes Alice was perfect, and that feeling echoed through their link, which made Alice fidget slightly and drop her arms, and a demure smile crossed her face. Drawing Alice's attention back up to Isabella's now ruby red eyes. The brightness in them was a contrast to the blood red from before, these weren't the dull or crazed eyes of a newborn, but vibrant and gorgeous.

Alice had been running her eyes over Isabella's body, taking in the shape of her, which was a moment she had fantasized about for a century. She had no idea that her imagination was so poor, and that the real thing was so much better. Alice's noted the differences between them. Isabella's skin was slightly darker than her own, and she was physically bigger, taller, her shoulders wider, and the rest of her frame was filled proportionally. Her breasts were larger, hips slightly wider, legs longer.

Isabella slowly sat up, and kept her arms at her sides. She had never been naked in front of anyone, well at least not like this, she didn't care about occasional shredded outfits during training or combat. This was revealing and making herself vulnerable to her lover, and she couldn't explain why she was so nervous. She felt a small tremble in start in her shoulders, and she bit her lower lip in a strangely fearful physical tick.

"Beautiful." Alice said both vocally and through their new connection. The emotion coupled with the word was full of longing and awe. Isabella felt a wave of modesty, she had been called beautiful once before. By Edward, and she knew deep down that he didn't truly mean it. This was different. She could feel Alice's absolute sincerity, and more than that, appreciation, and it hit home in a way she had never really thought would matter.

As a human she always thought of herself as average. As a vampire she never cared. This was the first time she ever wanted to be beautiful, and it was for someone else.

"I'll get my hair done, any way you want." Isabella whispered feeling a touch sheepish. Alice grinned, and launched herself back into Isabella's arms, then she nuzzled her face in Isabella's hair.

Isabella breathed deeply, not because of the need for air, but to breathe in Alice's scent. It was slightly different, than it had been before she bit her… but it was still Alice. She still smelled of cinnamon and lilacs, only somehow the scent was clearer and stronger, yet in a way it was almost more delicate. It wasn't the scent given off of a monster trying to lull their prey into a false sense of safety anymore. It was something else entirely, and Isabella smiled at the idea that it would take a long time to figure out what that difference was.

They sat there for several minutes, basking in the closeness. Until finally Isabella she broke her impossibly tight hold on Alice, and lifted the smaller woman onto her lap. Letting her eyes roam the body above hers, biting her lips she allowed her examination to be slow and thorough. Which brought them back to the moment, and the heat began to rise again.

There were no more words between them. They didn't need them. Isabella pulled Alice back down to her, in response Alice shifted slightly, and pushed a leg up between Isabella's. Pressing a thigh right against her sex, and Isabella's leg slid naturally into a matching position as she claimed Alice's lips in another kiss. The two of them began to move together, their movements becoming quicker and more intense as their excitement increased. Through it all, they moved together, as one.

In the end, they climaxed together. It was explosive and with an absolute intensity that neither had dared imagine, much less expected. The link magnified the peak of their pleasure to such a degree that for several long moments neither of them could fully grasp who felt what, and where feelings stopped.

For that moment they were truly one, and the only thing they could do was to ride the waves of it until they finally came down. The collapsed against the tree, even though they weren't even remotely physically tired, the sheer intensity of the experience was emotionally exhausting.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX**

It was about an hour later when Alice and Isabella finally made their way back toward the remains of their home. Alice had mentioned on the trip back that they would totally have to go shopping now that Isabella's only outfit was torn and stained. Even though it was a playful demand, Isabella could truly say she didn't mind. She knew that Alice was only concerned, and in her own way it was endearing.

The only thing that kept Alice from skipping all the way back to the house, was the fact that she had her arm around Isabella's waist, and she was nestled quite close under Isabella's arm, an arm that was wrapped possessively around Alice's shoulders. Every so often she'd let out a happy little purr as they walked, which made Isabella smile each and every time. She hadn't smiled this much since she was human, and it was a bit strange to consider the change in her outward personality.

She was trying to process the huge onslaught of emotions that came with her new lover. With the way her beast was caged and how she now had the only key. That the anger she had never been able to stifle had not vanished, but had reduced down to coals, which could still easily be stoked up again with the right fuel. They had become just a constant heat that gave her a passion she never had before. Life suddenly had meaning. Meaning beyond herself and her daughter.

The pain of memory was still there, and the thought of Victoria riled up the beast and threatened to tear down her newly constructed cage. It made her acutely aware of the fact that she wasn't fully 'cured', nor was she suddenly a paragon of pacifism and tranquility. Rather… in the acceptance of Alice's love, she had an epiphany of sorts. She realized that the anger she had used for so long to keep her going, was really a mask she used to hide from everything.

It was a mask that kept down the hurt, and the deep seated convictions of inadequacy she felt about herself, and everything that had been done to her, she had deserved. The false truth she had known in her heart for nearly a century. That she didn't deserve to feel love or joy, and she was destined to forever be alone. Those beliefs came from a strangled place emotionally, tied to Edward and Victoria who had smashed those feelings into her so deeply she hadn't realized that she had let them define her.

Isabella's thoughts started to turn darker, when suddenly she felt them swamped by a surge of emotion. Concern, caring, and above all, absolute love.

"You will never alone again, and if you have some wild delusion about being inadequate, maybe I'll drag you down behind that tree, and convince you to take me until I'm screaming your name loud enough for everyone in a ten mile radius to hear. Then maybe you'll realize otherwise."Alice said responding to Isabella's inner conflict with both a certainty and an amused quality that could only make Isabella smile.

"Mm. As much as that idea sounds fun, and I'm all for trying it some point, we probably should check on the others."Isabella responded in an attempt to deflect.

Alice raised a speculative eyebrow."I'm being serious."

"I know. I think I'm working on it now. I didn't even think about it as being a problem before. I guess that's a first step."Isabella kissed the top of her head once, before pulling her even tighter.

Alice tiled her head, and nodded once in agreement. "Yes, definitely."

Alice hesitated a moment before continuing, not wanting to bring up bad memories but feeling it needed to be said. "You know, I think your parents would be proud of you. You are so wonderful, and strong. You embody everything I remember Charlie standing for. You protect, and give of yourself thoughtlessly. I don't care what my worthless ex-brother thinks. You are literally the most important person in my life now. You know, this whole… bond thing is interesting. I can literally feel how you feel about me… and I can sense your emotions as they change."

Isabella nodded a little bit, though she responded mentally so that Alice could get used to it. _**"That's normal. You'll learn to block emotions in and out so it's not a constant flow. Eliza and I learned, and we'll teach you and Bree."**_

Isabella frowned as a thought struck her, _**"Actually… you shouldn't be overwhelmed by my emotions at the moment, I keep them pretty well walled off…" **_

Any reply Alice might have had was cut off as they stepped out of the forest and made their way toward the house and found everyone's eyes on them. The rest of their coven was very aware of their new status as a couple, but none of them made a single comment about it. Isabella let her eyes roam over each person in the clearing. She didn't see a single expression of disappointment or resentment, everyone seemed almost relieved. Rosalie's genuine smile was matched only by Jasper's. Emmett was smirking unabashedly, and Adara just looked happy for both of them. Leah and Seth were both smiling as well, since they remembered seeing Isabella as a human, so broken and alone. It was such a nice change, that their expressions also held a hope for the future that neither realized they were expressing.

Mei and Kira were nowhere in sight, but a quick scan of the forest and Isabella caught them drifting away, no doubt to do a perimeter run. She caught Mei out of the corner of her eye stopping and nodding once in satisfaction for her new relationship. Isabella knew that from Mei it was almost the equivalent of jubilation.

Bree was beaming, she was so happy, but she wasn't looking at Isabella so much. Her focus was on Alice, and she was trying desperately to hold back the anticipation she felt in her heart. For a girl who a week ago literally felt alone and unwanted by everyone she ever encountered in her life, to suddenly having this seemingly ever-growing family that was concerned for her and wanted her around, it was a still a very heady experience. She wondered if this new addition was going to care for her like the other two in the family did.

Alice could feel the emotions coming from the girl, and wanted nothing more than to go over to her. Of course she accepted her, she would love her in whatever way Bree needed from her without hesitation. Isabella pulled her arm from around Alice's shoulders, and let her go towards Bree. Alice moved over to the girl, and hesitated for only a second before gently laying her hand on Bree's shoulder. That seemed to be all that was needed for Bree to suddenly throw herself into Alice's arms.

Rosalie tried to keep her own mild disappointment in check, it wasn't her place to be upset by Bree's new affection for Alice. Bree seemed to want to take people in. She knew that Bree wasn't just going to be pushing anyone out, but practically soaked up all the care people showered her with. Rosalie didn't need to sense the girl's emotions to know that Bree was worried this was all going to get taken from her again, and so she was determined to bask in it for as long as it lasted.

Isabella smiled after them, but was quickly distracted by the one reaction that was majorly different than the others. Eliza started walking toward her with a strange frown on her face. She kept her face otherwise neutral, and her emotions masked behind a wall that Isabella couldn't feel through.

Isabella raised a concerned eyebrow, wondering for one brief second if Eliza resented or was angry with Isabella's choice to bring Alice into their family. When suddenly Eliza blurred towards her in a flash of movement, tackling Isabella full out. Then she wrapped her arms around her neck and hugged her very tightly.

Eliza could feel her mother's now much broader range of emotions, as well as things she never felt from her before. Isabella seemed to be truly happy for the first time Eliza could ever remember. For someone who had spent three quarters of a century feeling nothing but a sense of emptiness that ran the full depth of her soul, and watching the shell that her mother had become go through the motions, it was a complete revelation. She hugged even more tightly as she thought about it, and burrowed her head against her chest. Although slightly shocked by her reaction, Isabella returned the gesture happily.

"Oh god Mother, I'm so happy for you. It's been so long, and I've been so worried for so long. I can't believe it's finally happened. I can't tell you what this means to me. This is so awesome." Eliza knew she was babbling and didn't care.

"So you approve?" Isabella said with a slight smirk. She couldn't resist the chance to tease her daughter, however slightly.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Totally and absolutely!" Eliza said back, not really catching Isabella's playfulness.

"Eliza." Isabella forced them to sit up, even though she just wanted to hold her for a while longer. Then she met her eyes very directly, and then spoke clearly but quietly words that were long overdue. "I love you, Eliza. More than I can possibly say."

She echoed the sentiment through the link, pushing along with it all the deep feelings she had for her. The fact that Eliza was the reason she could even begin to love again, the seventy-five years of memories and the pride she felt in how she turned out. How much she admired Eliza's capacity for hope and optimism given her origins. She finally released all the things she had to keep bottled up about Eliza, finally sharing with her everything that she loved about her daughter.

Eliza stiffened. She was stunned, and couldn't react. In her entire life her mother had never actually said those words to her. Eliza had known, she had always understood that Isabella loved her, but that emotion was nearly impossible for Isabella to express verbally even over their connection. Over the years Eliza had come to accept it. She told herself again and again that it wasn't a big deal to her, and that she didn't actually need to hear the words.

Eliza told herself that Isabella's actions time and time again proved how she felt. Her mother was more than willing to put her life on the line for hers, willing to protect Eliza with her entire being no matter the cost. Isabella made this sacrifice and more while still letting Eliza live her life with as much freedom as was possible while working for the Volturi. Yet in her heart, deep down and buried, she was still a little girl who needed to hear how much her mother loved her.

After seventy-five years she never imagined what hearing those words would mean to her.

They were beyond emotion, they made everything they had ever gone through make sense. They pushed aside all the doubt and pain, all the fears she had hidden from Isabella about not being her 'real' daughter. All of that came flooding up from wherever she had them hidden. She couldn't stop the thoughts and feelings from coming, no matter how embarrassing they were. Isabella pushed Eliza away, but kept a hold of her.

"Did you really feel that way?" Isabella asked in the same emotional whisper she had used to finally express her love for her daughter.

Eliza looked down, and shut her eyes tightly. "Yes." Eliza wasn't sure what to expect, maybe anger, maybe sadness. Instead she felt pure unfiltered love pouring back at her. Emotions that were so strong, that Eliza couldn't process them consciously. She just let them flow over her. It was too much, but she didn't care. She leaned forward, and curled up in Isabella's lap, and pulled her mother's powerful arms around her. All semblance of composure gone. Eliza was half sobbing, half laughing as she embraced the person who meant more to her then her own life.

Alice and Bree watched, Isabella caress her daughter's hair and shoulders in a soothing way, as Eliza let her emotions out in unrestrained sobs. She couldn't explain what it all meant to her. To finally have the one thing she never thought she would have. Then, after a few minutes she sat up abruptly, and in a blur of speed that the rest of the coven had trouble following, rushed over to Alice and tackled her and Bree in a huge hug. A moment later, everyone could hear her repeating over and over, "Thank you.. thank you so much."

Isabella was mildly surprised when Eliza pulled away, but couldn't repress the smile when she saw her tackle Alice. Bree was clinging to both of them as tightly as Eliza had clung to her, and her face was so peaceful. Yet Isabella could feel the conflict inside. Bree still had this shadow looming over her. The man who raised her was vile and repugnant. A presence she couldn't turn away from no matter who was a part of her life.

Isabella nodded to herself that Bree needed closure next. She stood and moved over to the trio, and knelt down next to Bree. Then she leaned over and whispered in her ear "Don't think for a second I've forgotten you. I love you too." She put the same emotion behind it. The feelings she had when Bree opened her eyes for the first time, feelings she couldn't express at the time. It might be a new love, but Bree was her daughter, and nothing would ever change that. Bree stiffened a little, and then shifted to bury her face in Isabella's chest.

"I love you too… Mommy." Bree whispered so softly that even Isabella had trouble hearing it. She wrapped the girl in her arms, and realized for the first time how incredibly young Bree was. In a group of ancients, she was a child. She could be a true mother to her, she had decades to get it right. She had an eternity to help Bree forget about the misery of her childhood, and she didn't have to do it alone anymore.

Isabella caught Alice's eyes and could feel the smile there, even as Alice held a still semi-hysterical Eliza. In that moment. Isabella accepted it. She had a family. She knew that together they would face Bree's demons, just like they would any of her own. They would fight the battles ahead of them... and they would never be alone again.

They were a family, and heaven help anyone who tried to come between them, or tried to hurt them. The group hug had just broken up, and Rosalie was making her way to Isabella to say something when they were all interrupted by a faraway scream of pure agony.

The scream wasn't close by, miles away, but nearly every person there recognized the voice of Esme Cullen.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**YAY Chapter! and some MAJOR Bellice ^_^**

**1) First off, sorry about the humugo-ginormously long wait to get this chapter out. Real life stuff has happened, and I just couldn't get this chapter to where I thought it was acceptable. I'd rather take the time, and put out quality and something I won't look back and cringe with than get something out quickly. As it came out it was a very emotional chapter with a lot of fluff and some tears.**

**However it's also important to note I write for myself, not on any schedule. If you wish to pay me to do otherwise then we'll talk!**

**For a bit there this Harry Potter idea was on my mind and wouldn't get off, so I had to put some writing into that. So I will write what speaks to me. the HP idea might come out relatively soon. Though I might ask if anyone out there is a HP nut to message me! so I can ask questions/bounce ideas off as they occur to me.**

**Finally. I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS FIC. AT ALL. EVER. IT WILL BE COMPLETED. Even if a bus falls out of the sky and lands on me, Samantha Minuet will finish in my stead. Because she's awesome!**

**2) I'm going back through and editing the chapters to fix minor errors. It was pointed out that I've both said that whatever the hell Bella and Co are, (since they're like… hybrid vampire things) could and couldn't cry. so I made a decision and am editing retroactively. Those edits should be made and completed by tomorrow. They can cry. If this upsets you. Um. File it with our complaint department. I'm sure i have a trash bin somewhere.**

**On that note, what did you think of what we did to Alice's eyes?**

**I know we're portraying Bree as vulnerable, but in this case she really is. A family that includes her is still sinking in. She's not a child, just emotionally been stunted. I'm aware it's a theme of mine. :P **

**3) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: So it's finally here. Isabella and Alice are finally together! This chapter, and the next were tough. How do you pay off nearly three hundred thousand words of buildup? I hope this chapter was as powerful and impactful as it needed to be.**

**And no, this is really just the first step in the Bellice relationship, so don't expect them to stagnate at all. The month downtime, well we could explain, but excuses are kind of pointless. Suffice it to say, stuff came up. We're back on track, and the next chapter is definitely going up a lot faster than the last one. Please review! Oh, one last thing! Secrets and Covenants Chapter Four is coming soon!**

**4) Sharp-Eyed Shoutout goes to IronicArchangel for the FABULOUS review he posted pointing out some of the more in depth work we have on some of the "secondary" characters. It felt so good to be recognized for that.**

**5) No one really got the Star Trek bit we threw out there. The "throw sabo" quote is what we were actually going for.**

**6) Wow, 1200 reviews, We passed Black-Rose-of-Night's story "Reach for Me" in reviews. Which is amazing because that story was my inspiration for the basis of this story, and in particular Eliza. Though we have major differences. I just wanted to shout out my thanks**

**7) Also, I'd like to direct your attention to the fic, Irrational.**

**www dot fanfiction dot net / s / 9369729 / 1 / Irrational**

**It's a new fic by the author "A Thousand Undiscovered Stars". It's still in it's nascent stages but it has potential, and the writer seems super nice!**

**8) If you made it to the end of these author notes, thank you! This was A HUGE chapter we've been building to for... pretty much since chapter 1. Please let us know how you think we did. I hope you enjoyed the read enough to review!**


	46. Swan Song

**~ Chapter 46 ~**

_**How did we get here?  
Well I used to know you so well  
How did we get here?  
Well I think I know**_  
_**The truth is hiding in your eyes  
And its hanging on your tongue  
Just boiling in my blood  
But you think that I can't see  
What kind of man that you are  
If you're a man at all  
Well I will figure this one out  
On my own**_

Esme stood stock still at the window of her gallery. The breeze was slight, and cold like a night that never seemed to end. She's had spent countless nights like that, watching the moon and trees move slowly across time. Not that she was diverted so pleasantly on this night. There were no thoughts of beauty or hope, because her mind was lost in sea of ancient and painful memories. She was currently in one of the last of her human memories.

There was no pain. That's what struck her first. How could she be alive if there was no pain. She had hoped that by jumping that she'd have a release from her own anguish over losing her son. However, fate didn't seem to work that way for her. Slowly as she regained consciousness, she opened her eyes, which were partially glued shut by tears and blood.

Her head was turned at an odd angle, and just at the edge of her vision she could see her own blood lying splattered across a thousand rocks. She knew that her body was broken beyond repair, and yet somehow she was alive. The jump from the cliff should have killed her, by all rights she should be dead. It was all that she desired. It was all that meant anything anymore.

Except death wasn't answering her call. The tried to move, maybe in doing so she would aggravate her injuries and speed up the process. Her legs didn't respond, and neither did her arms. Yet she could still breathe, and her heart was beating steadily, albeit weakly. A horrible idea came to her then, what if she was stuck like this? Would she be in one of those iron lungs for the rest of her life? What had she done to herself?

She tried to call out, to scream. Except she had no voice left. She opened her mouth, letting out a pitiful wail of strangled emotions, and anger, and frustration. But she couldn't truly express what was in her heart. To be denied the one thing left to her. To join her son in death. She lost all sense of hope, and she began to feel her mind slip. She tried to sleep again, to let the world spin away. Only she couldn't keep them shut. After a while, she could only glare up into the bright sun and hope for death to finally come and take her.

It didn't come.

Then something changed, and a sharp pain began to shoot up and down her body. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse. At least she wasn't paralyzed, but enduring acute, pulsing, and impossible agony wasn't much better. Still, the pain was but a shadow of the gut wound she suffered when her son was taken from her. She couldn't understand why her life had turned out the way it had. She had only ever wanted to be a teacher, and raise a family.

Instead she had been pressured by her family into a marriage she wanted no part of. A marriage that had quickly turned abusive. It got so bad that she knew she had to run the moment she found out she was pregnant. All she wanted was the chance to raise the child in a house filled with love, but that was something that could never happen with Charles Evenson in their lives.

Of course even running didn't give her the happiness she had hoped for. Fate itself seemed to enjoy continually pulling the rug out from under her. Her son had lasted two days before succumbing to lung fever. She hadn't even been able to christen him with a name. It was like seeing her last chance at any of her dreams dying in front of her eyes, and it crushed her very soul.

All she had to look forward to now, was continually running from her abusive husband. Because of her choice to run, she no longer had family to turn to, not that they would've done anything except try and return her to him. Esme knew there was only once choice, she would rather have no life than be trapped in that hell.

So at dawn the following day, after sobbing through the night, she had gone to her favorite spot in the world. There was a steep incline at the tip of the peninsula she was living on. It was one of the local's hidden spots, because it had the most beautiful vista within a hundred miles.

However, it wasn't very popular, because the hike to the summit wasn't easy. Esme loved it. Even though she hadn't been able to come back in months. Early on in her pregnancy she had walked up there several times, and sat and read to her unborn baby.

The sea was grey that day, and the curls of crashing water had turned black... which felt fitting for her mood. She followed the same ritual she always did. She took the bus out to the end of the line. Then she walked the two miles to the summit one last time. She looked along both sides of the shore line. Down to where the beaches were to the north, and the rocky shore to the west with the thick forest pressed against the water like a green wall. Then she looked down the sheer face of the cliff. Far below was a tumbling roil of white foamy salt water and jagged rocks.

She sat near the edge, this time dangling her feet over because she no longer had any fear. It was something she had never dared to do before. And then she read the final few chapters of the book she'd been reading to her son out loud. She didn't cry, she didn't feel much at all. It was liberating, to know that the end was coming. That she didn't have to live with the pain anymore. So quite deliberately and with very little hesitation, she stood, pressed the book to her chest, and threw herself off the cliff, to the rocks and water below.

The cold instantly sapped anything resembling sense away from her. Then came the first crash of her body into the rocks, it was on the third impact that she lost consciousness. She was tossed north, at least that was her guess. Not that she could really tell given the angle she was lying. The rocky part of the beaches were pitched in several places, so it was entirely likely that her body wouldn't be found for days. She knew she didn't have that long, so clung to that idea with a renewed hope that she would finally join her son.

She lost track of time, but the fading light in the sky above her gave her a sense that it had been many hours. The stench rising from around her made her eyes water, she couldn't figure out how she was alive, when all she wanted was to end it all. To fade into the darkness and finally be with him again.

She closed her eyes and replayed the memory of a concert her mother took her to when she was a young girl. Before the misery of adulthood and the tortures of her husband. She would never confess it to anyone, but she was thankful for the war. It had taken Charles away and across the ocean, and she had privately wished that some lucky German soldier managed to put a bullet in him. Not that she was so lucky.

She concentrated on that memory of family, of sitting between her parents at the orchestra. The violins sang in an ever rising crescendo, building, building until the full orchestra joined in a cacophony that literally took her breath away. Maybe it would now, the memory of that moment would steal her final breath from her chest. She almost smiled as she felt her body being lifted, wondering if she was finally being taken away to heaven.

Then she heard a voice, close to her ear, whisper soft, and kind. It was a familiar voice, one that she had heard… years before. She opened her eyes and saw the doctor who had been so nice to her when she was a stupid teenager.

She had fallen out of old Marley, her favorite tree. She knew each and every tree in her neighborhood like they were old friends. She even went so far as to name each of them based on their individual peculiarities. On her sixteenth birthday when she went to see Old Marley she knew something was wrong. He looked off, maybe he was dry. Or he could've possibly been unhappy about the new construction in the lot adjacent to his resting place. Still, she took her usual path up his trunk, and failed to notice each limb bending a little more than usual to her weight.

Yet as she ascended she began to feel uneasy, there was something very wrong with her old friend. Then she rounded towards the top and found a large section missing, which had killed the core of him. She froze in place, terrified for own safety, and began to scramble back down towards the ground as quickly as caution would allow. On the last branch, which was just a little too high to jump from, a crack which she had caused on her ascent gave way.

She noticed it a second too late as her foot descended from the branch above. The wood made a sickening sound, and she was suddenly in free fall. She flailed her arms, in an attempt to find any purchase, but there was nothing close enough to hold onto. The fifteen foot drop wasn't the worst she had ever faced, but she landed wrong and her right leg buckled under her weight. Luckily she caught herself before she fell forward and hurt anything else.

She had to wait nearly an hour before anyone walked by, and the off duty cop who was on rounds for security on the construction site was helpful, but too young to really know how to handle a screaming girl who needed medical attention. When they finally did get to the emergency room, she was treated by someone named Carlisle Cullen.

He was the one who set her leg, and then helped with her recovery even though he didn't need to. Maybe her fond memories of him were due to the fact that he really knew what he was doing, which was rare in those days. Most people in that time period who had the misfortune to suffer a break to a leg bone usually ended up with a limp of some sort, even if it was just a subtle one.

Or maybe it was because he didn't treat her like a child. Either way she thought of him as a dream of a man, one who epitomized kindness and compassion. She was a little in love with him before she left the hospital.

Carlisle was the opposite of Charles Evenson in every way. He was her savior, her saint. So it had to be a delusion. There was no way he was there in that moment, at the end of her life. He had to be an angel, because there was no other way he could still be so beautiful. She gasped, and he smiled. She remembered trying to talk, but was unable to get any words out. He kissed her forehead in earnest, and a moment later she felt something hot press into her neck.

Nearly two centuries later, Esme opened her eyes, wiping away the mists of memory from her mind's eye. She turned to face the moon, still high in the sky. The paint was still drying on the canvas she had been working on, she couldn't bear to look at it at the moment. Carlisle had given her some time alone to think, and she had come to a decision. Much like the one she had come to all those years ago. It was time, she had no other choice.

She leaned out over the windowsill and took a breath of the night air. She knew this was the end, and so she turned back for one final glance back around her private sanctuary that housed so many memories. She took in each little monument to her family members one by one. Ending on the empty spot where her first adopted son's portrait used to hang. With one more deep breath she finally she turned away from the room with a silent sigh, and leapt out of the window. As soon as her feet hit the ground she began to move, as fast as her preternatural legs could carry her.

Without a sound, she began her search.

It didn't take her long. She caught the scent five miles from her house, and began to follow it along non-existent paths toward the source. She was entirely unsurprised where she found it leading. The trail she picked up was nearly a direct line from their house to where she knew Isabella's house used to stand. This was at a point somewhere between the two, and she guessed that Isabella's house was probably no more than three or four miles further ahead, which was within his range.

There, high atop a massive pine was Edward. He was crouched on one of the uppermost branches, staring into the sky, in the direction of Isabella's house. He had a look of concentration on his face, one she'd seen too often when he was picking up the thoughts of those around him. However at the moment it was an expression that was tinged with anger and frustration.

Esme hesitated, she was surprised he hadn't reacted to her presence in the area, or most especially to her thoughts. She had been very careful to organize her thoughts, and keep them as silent as possible. However that had only seemed to dilute the effect of his mind reading ability in the past, and there was no way she would be able to hide the current anger coursing through her. Yet it didn't seem to matter. Edward was apparently completely oblivious to her presence.

She watched him crouched on the branch, and let her eyes flick over his face. Searching for any sign of the boy she thought she had helped raise. She was trying to find any of the goodness and light that she had once attributed to him, with the hope that somehow he might eventually be redeemed. She watched as frustration turned his face into a disgusting sneer, marring his looks even further. A scowl crossed her own face and her jaw line became set, because she knew there was no turning back now.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Since the newborn girl's adoption into Isabella's twisted little family, Edward's power to read minds had been missing, reduced to static. Over the intervening days it had slowly come back to him, until it was almost normal. Then his range returned as well. That gave him the perfect opportunity to snoop. Allowing him to spy on the 'Swan' coven meeting. Though Bella and her two adopted bitches were still completely blank to him, the rest of the coven was still open, like a magazine tossed aside on a bathroom floor.

Not that he liked what he heard once he trained his focus on Bella's group, who were mostly made up of his family, or rather… traitors from his family. He wouldn't tolerate their betrayal, which was why he had given them up to the Volturi. Yet even so, he couldn't contain his anger as he read their thoughts. It seemed Bella and Eliza were twisting and contorting everyone to suit their renegade views. They were turning everyone against him specifically, even more than when they left him humiliated after he finally told Alice the truth about his protection of Bella's innocence from her soulless perversions.

The only part of the meeting that he found any enjoyment in, was when Bella had forbidden any of this new coven from coming after him. He read the anger on Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper's minds when she said this, they wanted to hunt him down and remove his head. Those mental images alone reinforced his convictions, he was absolutely right to inform on them.

Edward couldn't contain a smile of glee at that. Her refusal to let her coven go after him held significance. It meant that a part of her was still his Bella, and still didn't want him hurt, no matter how she may have justified it. No matter what '_changes_' she'd gone through, or how she had been corrupted by Eliza's influence. It meant that a piece of the old Bella remained, and he could see a glimpse of that tentative, insecure, and easily malleable girl he remembered. If he could only get Eliza's claws out of Bella, maybe he wouldn't have to kill her after all.

Eliza of course would have to die. Her crimes were too many to name. He simply didn't have any other option. Just defying the Volturi and consorting with a wolf in a… _homosexual_ relationship was enough. The rest, well what she had done to Isabella was beyond reprehensible. Edward's eyes widened, he realized that Eliza's influence hadn't just caused Isabella irrational fury towards him, but maybe it had also perverted Isabella's mind to the point where she found that sort of deviant relationship acceptable… even palatable, enough to accept Alice's attentions.

He turned away from the pleasant thoughts of how he would tear Eliza apart limb from limb, and allowed himself to focus on the rest of the coven. The newborn bitch would have to go too, he had briefly considered going after her, in fact that was his original plan. She was easily the most vulnerable of the little group, and her death would've hurt Bella and Eliza, and caused enough chaos in the group that even Alice wouldn't have seen the real attack coming.

Now... he wasn't so sure that was the right way to go. Although he firmly believed that that girl should never have been given a second chance, it was not Bella's place to save her. Alice would also definitely have to go, not just for the fact that she betrayed him by even thinking of touching his mate, but also to put her out of her misery, ending her existence would finally save her from her own perversions.

Rosalie and Emmett he wasn't so sure about, though he was pretty sure Jasper had to be dealt with first. Adara was a write off, he cared nothing for Jasper's mate and would end her after he was done with Jasper.

Emmett was slow and stupid, he could easily be tricked and perhaps even convinced to reverse his decisions. Rosalie, well Emmett could be the bargaining chip, and threatening Emmett's life would easily sway her back to his side. Or maybe he could have her killed either by the Volturi's hand, so that he could get Emmett back without having to deal with her worthless mind another day. It would all come down to her reaction, she would have to learn her proper place. Though thinking on that, Edward realized that it might be too harsh of a lesson for her. It might be kinder if she was simply destroyed, oblivious and vapid to the end.

He had read Rosalie's mind as she lead Isabella away, to give her time to think. Her odd kindness put him on edge, and made him wonder if maybe he had misjudged her all these years. If so she was an even greater threat than he thought she was. He nodded once, determined to end Rosalie's life when the time came.

He watched Bella closely, waiting for the right time since she was isolated. Then he snarled to the night sky when Alice joined her. Reading Alice's mind made his blood boil, and it forestalled any approach he might have made when Bella was alone. He couldn't bear to read her thoughts when they touched, and had to restrain himself from streaking to their location and attacking them. Not with Rosalie in earshot, not with the Coven less than a mile away from them. It was too risky.

Then it happened again!

Some sort of psychic backlash hit him like a wrecking ball knocking down his power like a bunch of poorly mortared bricks. It was the same thing that had happened when Bella had taken in the newborn girl. What had she done? He squeezed a nearby branch in anger, since he couldn't wrap his hands around Alice's throat.

Over the next few hours, he puzzled over that as he tried to force his abilities to function again, to no avail. He wondered if it was an extension of Bella's gift to block him, or maybe it was a power the newborn had that she was using unconsciously, or far more likely it was something Eliza was doing to control them all. Not that it mattered, since the effect was the same. His power was once again reduced to nothing but static, it was like losing his sight, he was lost without it.

Suddenly, in his concentration, he could hear the faintest whisper of the mind, but couldn't make out the voice, or anything said, but it was progress. He smiled, but the smile quickly vanished when he realized how close the mind was to him. It wasn't in the distant ruins of Bella's exploded house. He tensed up, waiting for the attack, as he stretched his other senses out around him, searching for the person close to him. He was braced for any sudden movement, only it didn't come.

Instead the stranger slowly climbed up to a branch near his perch and waited for him to respond. Normally he would have known who it was without a second's hesitation, just from their internal voice. It was why he didn't look, he was waiting for that recognition to come to him. After a second when nothing came, he took a deep breath and a familiar scent came to him. Lilac and vanilla, a scent he associated with only be one person; Esme. He sighed and looked down to see her looking up at him, even though it wasn't the face he was hoping to see. He had hoped Isabella had finally come to her senses and sought him out.

"What do you want, Mother?" He gave Esme an exaggerated frown, he didn't need a lecture.

Esme had her feet balanced perfectly one the branch directly below his, which put her within a few feet of his legs. Her expression set in as neutral an expression as she could muster. When she spoke, her voice was very soft and had a strange quality to it, one Edward had never heard before. "Tell me why, Edward."

"Tell you why what?" Edward glared down at her for a long moment, his anger and frustration deepening his already miserable sneer.

Esme's brow furrowed at that response. Edward never had to ask for clarification before. It was obvious something had happened to his ability to read minds, though she didn't know what. She opened up her mind, letting the thoughts that plagued her come to the surface so she didn't have to waste energy hiding them.

Esme's voice was tinged with infinite sadness, "I want to know why... everything. Why you've done what you've done. Why my family is split in two. Just… why?"

A brief smile flickered across his face. Here was one person who would never give up on him. Esme would always believe him to be her beloved son, and this was his chance to at least have someone in his corner. Someone whom Eliza and Isabella couldn't manipulate and twist against him. "Everything I've done has been to protect our family."

Edward knew that he had Esme with that one statement, her love for her family was unparalleled. He could see it in her face, how it softened with his declaration. "I tried to protect us all. I tried to keep us all together as a family. I tried not to let this all happen, but I don't understand why everyone seems to be turning on me, on us." He injected as much hurt into his voice as possible, playing on her sympathies as much as he could. It was a performance he'd mastered years ago, it was the same one he used to get her to turn away from Isabella.

Esme let some hope show on her face, but didn't respond. He was saying the right words, and his face reflected the kindness and confusion that she had wanted to find. Except... except it was the same words, and the same expression he had used a hundred times before. She felt her heart die a little as she saw past his charade, saw it for the act it had always been. She kept her expression the same, but inside her anger began to grow again.

As silence greeted him from below, he knew she was hearing and absorbing what he was saying, and buying his story. He just had to close the performance with something she couldn't refute. He let the silence linger for almost too long, thinking about how to phrase it just right.

Then his head shot up as a thought occurred to him. Whether it was true or not, Eliza would never be able to prove his actions, even Jasper could be sold on that eventually. It might be enough to get the Denali to side with him, as well as Carlisle, and possibly Emmett too.

Edward kept his voice tentative, almost thoughtful, making it sound like it was something he suspected but was pretty damn sure of. "I think this is all a power Isabella's… well… Eliza has. manipulating people. She's twisted Isabella's personality for years, and now has managed to twist our entire family to their side. I'm trying to get them back. So we can be a family again. Eliza's entire goal seems to be breaking up our family and she's almost succeeded." He beamed down the pride he felt in his theory, convinced that Esme bought it completely.

Esme stared up at him, and after another long moment she finally responded with a slight nod. "I guess that means there's only one thing to do then." Her voice was gentle and thoughtful.

Edward smiled down at her with the same false expression of love he'd given her for his entire life. The fake mother, with her blank, simple, gullible mind. Her role was never going to change, she loved him too much to ever believe him capable of the things he knew were ahead of him. Edward struggled to keep the smug grin off his face, he had convinced her, and she was going to help him. Not that she was capable of anything else, but he did have a moment of doubt when she first arrived.

"What's that?" He asked with eager anticipation, not that he expected her to express anything more than a desire to get her family back together.

"To say goodbye." Her reply was harsh, filled with anger. The expression she had kept on her face shifted to her true feelings, and the sudden hatred caught Edward totally off guard.

Edward furrowed his brow, trying to understand what she meant. However before he could come up with a response, her arm shot out and grabbed him by the left foot. Then her other hand slammed into his left knee in a vicious and precise strike. His leg was effectively severed at the joint.

The shock, and the impact of the attack caused him to let out a cry of pain. His hands let go of the branch he was clinging to, in an involuntary move to find the leg that was now missing. That simple movement, shifted his center of balance in just the right way to cause him to topple out of the tree, hitting several branches as he fell. On particularly large branch flipped him so that he was falling face first, flailing uselessly for a handhold to stop his descent. Until he slammed into the ground at nearly terminal velocity for a human.

Esme, her face set in a grim mask, and jumped out of the tree right behind him. She gave him no time to recover, after he landed on his stomach, he had just began to push himself up when she landed on his back, forcing him back down into the mud and pine needles. Forcing his face into the ground several inches.

Edward let out a grunt from the first impact, a grunt that quickly turned into another cry of pain. Esme wasted no time when landed on his back, she had thrown his amputated leg away while she descended, so her hands were free when she reached down and grabbed a hold of his right arm at the wrist and upper bicep. She pulled it up and backward with one merciless yank, and then quite deliberately stomped down on his shoulder with as much force as she could muster while she twisted the arm. It was a simple but effective move, and it did its job, severing Edward's arm right at the shoulder. She repeated her actions with his other arm, rendering him basically defenseless.

Edward managed to turn his head, so his face was out of the mud, so she could hear his surprisingly soft cries of protest and pain that were laced with genuine disbelief and fear. Sincerity dripped from his voice for the first time, and the change wasn't lost on Esme.

"Mother... please! Stop! What are you doing?" He called to her pathetically, as he realized she was as lost as Bella. His mother, the only person he was sure would never turn on him.

Edward was relieved when she seemed to hear is pleas and stepped off his back. Then she slid her foot under him slightly and flipped him over unceremoniously, like he was just an oversized pancake. His relief was short lived as he looked up into Esme's face. He had never seen her look like this at him before. Her expression was beyond angry, it was filled with a hate he didn't know she was capable of. Her usually lovely amber eyes bored into his, and he was struck with how cool and calm they were. This wasn't fury, this was calculated rage.

"I need to hear it Edward. I need the truth, don't evade the answer and don't attempt to lie to me, or I'll know." When she spoke, her voice wasn't as angry as her expression was. It was dark, and precise, and her demand was not up for negotiation.

Edward sighed, she truly was as lost as the others. Since she had the upper hand, for the time being he knew he had to play along, he knew there was no way she would take this beyond a simple flash of anger. She had done damage to him, that was more than enough to prove her point. She would lecture him and be done. Thought it was a shame that she would have to die too. In a way he was fond of her. She had tried her best to be a mother to him.

"I don't blame you for this. She must've gotten to you too." Edward looked for any of the love she usually had in her eyes, and at the moment it was very disconcerting to find none. Edward groaned softly in exaggerated pain, in a vain attempt to evoke some sympathy from her, but even that didn't work.

He grimaced, and frowned and finally flinched under her gaze as it bored into his eyes. "Fine. I imagine this is about Isabella, like always. I will never understand it. How are all of you so obsessed with that bitch. I didn't even find her all that attractive, she was so average. Not particularly smart, no real exceptional traits except for her ability to block my gift. Why her, why her over me. What's so special about Bella fucking Swan?"

Esme's gaze, if possible seemed to narrow even more, and the daggers she was sending at him became even more piercing. "That's the question. If you cared so little about her, why did you bring her into our family? Why did you put us through all of that grief, if you never really wanted her in the first place?"

Edward snarled, his anger finally getting the best of him, "if it hadn't been for Alice's… sick infatuation, I probably would've just given in to my lust for her blood. I probably would have buried her out in the woods never to be found, or left her so that it looked like suicide. As is, I almost did took her in the forest when we left her, but I knew it would cause too much of an uproar. Besides… I was already on the outs with half the family, who blamed me for leaving her behind. You barely spoke to me for two years afterward, even after I told all of you it was her choice. Her choice, not mine."

Edward had begun to try sit, which was a bit comical without arms, but Esme found no amusement in it, and stopped him with a foot planted on his chest, which effectively kept him pinned to the ground. Her voice was low and dangerous."Her choice? Even though I convinced myself to believe you, I knew it was lie. I knew it. In my soul, I knew she wouldn't have wanted to be left behind, but I _trusted_ you."

Edward sneered as he looked up at Esme, "I should have just killed her. Then none of this would've happened. You can't deny that. And you can't deny that I was right. Look at what's happened! Isabella became a monster, just as I said she would! Our family has been split apart, all because of this. I could have stopped this all if I had just killed her when I saw Alice's vision that first day, before she even had a chance to walk into our lives!"

Esme's eyes became hooded, and her tone softened slightly, "Yes, tell me about that. What did Alice see that first day that forced you to act?"

A look of disgust passed over Edward's face as he hesitated just a moment before responding. "I saw Alice have a vision of her and Bella… _together._ Some human _girl_, comes in and starts an unnatural and perverted affair with Alice. Breaking up her proper relationship with Jasper. I knew in that moment I couldn't let that happen. So I sacrificed searching for my own happiness to protect our family once again."

Esme stared down at Edward, the true selfishness of his nature striking finally home. It left her utterly at a loss for words. It was one thing to suspect all of this, but it was quite another for her to hear him admit it. Not just confirm it, but actually be proud of his actions, without the need to justify his reasons for it. She didn't need another reason, but still… she wanted... needed to hear all of it.

She kept her voice thoughtful, and intentionally put a trace of understanding in her tone, "and that's why you informed the Volturi." It came out more as a statement than a question.

Edward nodded, "Of course! You see what Bella has become. She's a monster without conscience, and has most definitely lost her soul! That trade she made for immortality, has made her powerful, but at what cost? She's totally lost her way, she doesn't even attempt to curb her impulses like us, just look at her eyes! I knew the Volturi would take steps when they found out about Eliza and her… consorting with a mutt, steps that needed to happen. Such a beast cannot walk around unleashed. Then somehow they managed to survive, I wanted the Volturi to know so our family wouldn't get blamed! So we wouldn't get taken down with them."

Esme was nodding slowly, and her voice was very soft. "If that's the reason for you actions, why did you tell them about Alice and Rosalie?"

"Alice and Rosalie betrayed us. So of course I betrayed them. I admit I was angry, but they need to be taught a lesson! They broke up our entire family siding, with someone who's done nothing but make our lives miserable since she walked into it! They need to be taught that nothing is more important than family. They won't be killed of course, just shown the error of the ways. For once, the Volturi have the right idea. Eliza is an abomination. She and her… 'mother' are like a plague, they poison and corrupt anyone and anything they touch. They need that need to be destroyed. Don't you get it?" Edward's voice came out in a plea for understanding, although he could clearly see he was getting through to her.

Esme was quiet for several long moments as she apparently considered his words. When she spoke, her voice was very gentle. "I get it. I finally get it. I chose poorly. I'm sorry Edward." Esme's expression was suddenly very kind, and she leaned down to push back his tangled, wet, and muddy hair from his face.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. I was worried that whatever they do to people had gotten to you too. I actually thought you were going to kill me for a second there."

Edward looked up at her troubled expression as she looked down at his injuries, he shook his head, his smile magnanimous. Now that he'd convinced her, he'd solidify his hold if he appeared forgiving. "It's okay, Don't worry about it, you were angry, just help me put myself back together."

Esme stood back up and resumed the pressure on his chest. "You misunderstand me. I get that you were never worth my love, I finally see that I've wasted so much time with you when you never deserved a second of it. I loved a mask, a mask you've worn for centuries, that hid your true face from us. I chose poorly a century ago, when I didn't go with my instincts. I gave up the fight, and let your selfishness destroy a young woman's life. You're wrong, all of this can be laid at your feet, not Isabella's." Esme's reply chilled him to his absolute core, and for the first time since he was human, he felt genuine fear.

Edward tried to reply, but was cut off as Esme pushed against his chest as a distinct warning not to talk.

Her voice ascended to a loud rant. "I should've known that you were wrong for her, but I was blind. Stupid and blind. You've caused us all… so much hurt. Alice has been walking around nursing a shattered heart for nearly a century. Our family has been living a lie just as long, longer even. I lost a daughter because of your deceit. And Bella… God, I have no idea what happened to her, but I can only imagine it was awful. Do you have any idea what your selfishness has done to her?"

Any reply Edward was going to make to that was cut off when she suddenly stepped forward brought down her foot other foot on his neck.

Esme's voice dropped once again to a mournful, regretful tone. "I'm sorry Edward, I'm sorry for failing you. For not being strong enough to see you for who… or what you've always been. If I had, maybe I could've found you help. It's far too late now. You know, I had always thought of you as my baby, my son. The one that I lost. But you're not even close. He died two hundred years ago."

Esme's voice turned even harder, "I think I understand now. The reason you would never turn someone, and your claims that none of us have a soul, is because of you lack one. You're a monster, reprehensible, despicable, evil. What you could never understand, was that being a vampire doesn't make you a monster by taking your soul. You have to let yourself become a monster. Although I think you always were one... Carlisle should've let you die on that hospital bed." She clenched her jaw, and any remaining kindness as well as all doubt vanished from her face, and she squeezed the foot pressed below his chin, and began placing extreme pressure on his neck.

Edward's eyes widened, as he realized what was about to happen. But part of him still felt she couldn't be serious. That she couldn't go through with this. As the pressure increased on his neck, he realized that maybe… just maybe he'd underestimated Esme. His last thought was that it didn't matter. He'd be put back together eventually. If she didn't do it, Carlisle would. Carlisle loved his eldest son, more than any of the others, and Edward believed he'd save him.

Esme was knew it was too late to do anything else. She was implacable. She had to do this. There was no other option. Edward had made his choice, and his manipulations had caused her family far too much pain to forgive. He didn't even show a remote understanding of what was wrong with his actions, nor the barest hint of remorse. Just a glimmer of self doubt and she wouldn't have been able to go through with it. Instead she found that he was absolutely convinced he was right. He would continue to be a danger to the rest of her family.

No matter how much it hurt her, no matter how much it tore her apart. She could not allow him to live.

If she had been human, tears would've been flowing from her eyes, and they would have been genuine tears of grief. Not for the creature who's life she was ending. No the tears would've been for the life he _could've_ had. For the man he _should've_ been. The tears would have been a mother's sorrow for the pain her other children had gone through at his hands. The tears would have been for the absolute loss she felt in that moment.

Then with one final push, she separated his head from his shoulders. It was almost anticlimactic, his entire body going limp when his head came off with a dull grating thump. She stared down at his body, and knew that it would eventually pull itself back together. A part of her was tempted to let that happen. Then she looked down into the blank eyes of her son once more before she turned away. It took only moments to complete one final task, and when she was done she stared at the area where Edward's body lie covered and hidden.

Finally, she let the emotion of the day overtake her, and in one violent and loud outpouring of raw emotion, she let out a scream of anguish for the son she never got a chance to see grow up. For the fact that she let this monster into her heart, she let him replace her own blood, to the point that she had missed out on the pain that his actions had caused her other children. Children who deserved so much more than she had been able to give them recently.

She screamed with rage, and pain, and utter desolation. It was a scream that made the trees shudder, and it felt like they bent away from the power of her voice. It was a scream that could be heard all the way down into Forks. Although to human ears it sounded like nothing more than a wolf howling at the moon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X**

Carlisle had gotten a book he hadn't read in decades off one of the multitudes of books shelves in his office, and was idly flicking through the pages, more as a distraction than for any real interest in re-reading the book itself. He had just read a page and decided to put the book back and pick another, when he heard a wretched heartrending scream, so primal that is was impossible not to flinch from the intensity of it.

The flinch was worse for him though, in his own heart he felt a tiny bit of that agony. Especially she he would recognize that voice anywhere. Esme was in pain, and that terrified him more than anything he had ever experienced, more then when he went through the fires of transformation. He blurred into motion in the next instant, and hit the forest floor in a fraction of a second. The glass window of his office was shattered, not that he cared in that moment, all that mattered was Esme. He barely noticed when he was joined by the Denali less than half a mile out from the house.

The coven had been arguing in whispers about what they were going to do about the impending attack from the Volturi, and it had nearly split them apart. If the Volturi had gotten here earlier than they thought, and attacked Esme, this might be the final straw, the moment when her own coven might dissolve and never come back together. It was something Tanya didn't want to think about, but was a very real possibility.

The Denali members all wore their worry on their faces, Tanya in particular was scared by the sheer agony conveyed in the scream. Nothing good could come from a sound like that. Whatever she was going through was going to change Carlisle in a very permanent way, and she wasn't sure he was strong enough to survive another loss. Yet they moved as one toward the source of the scream.

A mile later Carlisle and the Denali came upon an otherwise insignificant clearing to find Esme still shaking from the force of her scream. Carlisle started looking around to make sure that she hadn't been attacked, and a look of confusion crossed his face when he realized she wasn't in danger. She was surrounded by different scattered piles of branches and leaves, as if she had ripped them down in a rage.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when the entire Swan coven showed up suddenly. Isabella and Alice led, followed shortly after by Eliza and Bree, and then finally Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Adara, and two of the wolf shifters, They all stopped short, their expressions cautious as they saw Carlisle and the Denali's there.

The only one who seemed completely oblivious to the whole thing was Esme, who was on her hands and knees with her head pressed against the ground in front of her.

"Esme, are you okay?" Carlisle asked with more than a little desperation. He had never seen her like this before. Except once, the night he found her in the morgue after they brought her in broken and battered. How she had survived was remarkable, and that strength of spirit convinced him to turn her. Only he might not have tried had he known why she was so broken at the time. Although he never regretted his decision, he wondered if the reason she had leapt off that cliff had stayed with her all these years. Had the loss of her family, and her first adopted son in particular driven her mad, or maybe it had broken her will beyond his ability to repair it.

Esme lifted her head, but didn't look at her husband. Ignoring his question entirely. Instead, she turned her head to fix her gaze on Isabella. She was silent for what seemed like an eternity as her eyes took in her coven as a whole, but then focused on the point where Isabella and Alice's fingers were intertwined.

She stared at their hands for the longest of moments, before she finally spoke, her voice was soft, but carried to everyone present.

"Isabella, I know I don't deserve it… but I… have to know something. If you'll answer a question for me?" The words came out very stilted, and a bit formal. Esme's strained to hold onto her composure, because it hurt to talk to any of them like this, as an outsider with a request. It was tearing her up inside. The turmoil was reflected in her face when she spoke. Carlisle moved to take her in his arms, but before he took more than a step she held up her hand, without even looking at him, commanding him to halt. It stopped him in his tracks.

"What is it you want to know?" Isabella said, feeling a strange sense of tension. She found herself resisting the urge to walk over and give Esme as much comfort as she could. A frown crossed her face as she realized the impulse came from a place of love. For a moment she thought she was just feeling Alice's emotions. However after a moment it struck her, that while Alice was certainly feeling those emotions, she wasn't alone in them. Bella realized she still had deep feelings for Esme and her presence, more than she would've ever been able to admit before.

"All those years ago, would you have chosen us, chosen Alice, if you were actually given the choice?" Esme spoke quietly, but her question carried a heavy sense of importance with it. The question elicited several slight sighs and gasps from the large group gathered, but no one spoke up.

Esme's eyes move from Isabella's to Alice's, and finally absorbed the changes in both of them. From brilliant ruby red of Isabella's eyes, to the startling bright green of Alice's and the obvious height difference. Alice must have gained at least two inches in height and nearly four in hair length. She wanted to ask why, to ask how. But she restrained herself as she had asked a far more important question. Then her eyes flicked down to their joined hands again, and they lingered there as she awaited an answer.

Isabella knew what Esme was asking. It was the same question that she should have been asked a century before. Was it too late for her to ask now? Isabella wasn't sure if there was an answer, but she knew what her answer was back then, and what it was now that the Cullen's had become a part of her life again.

" I begged him to take me with him." Isabella's voice was bitter, but not as angry as it had been before. No one spoke for several seconds before she continued, this time her voice was filled with a very different emotion beyond simple bitterness, it mirrored the loss Emse felt in her entire being in that moment. "All of you were my family. I made my choice, and he didn't care. His selfishness cost me all of you. He cost me the love of my life for over a century. The only good things to come out of that were my daughters."

Isabella's response was gentle, but carried great import of its own. As she stared at Esme, a look of conflict and confidence came across in a smile that almost no one would've expected see on Isabella's face. It wasn't a bitter and mocking smile, nor was it a feral smile that heralded pain, but a genuine one. The first that Esme had seen on her. Esme flicked her gaze up, and locked her eyes with Isabella's for what seemed like an eternity.

Then she nodded once, and snapped her fingers down at the brush in front of her. A spark ignited from the tips, and a flare up of matches lit up the night, Then she tossed the book on the leaves and twigs in front of her, which caught fire almost instantly. It grew within seconds into a bonfire, even though there was almost no visible fuel. Then everyone realized that the thick smoke billowing off it was a deep purple.

It took several more seconds for the realization to set in. Nearly everyone gasped, but no one tried to move to save the remains of the vampire Esme had set on fire.

Carlisle feel to his knees, staring at the fire raging in front of him. He knew exactly who was under the burning blanket of rotten leaves and twigs, and that it was far too late to save his son. He stared for a few seconds more, and then buried his face in his hands.

The Denali stared in shock. They had been witness to the drama that had unfolded for the past week, as well as had been privy to everything that happened, but the idea that it might push Esme to do something like this was astonishing. None of them had words.

The former Cullen's stared as well. Emmett, Jasper, and Adara staring at the flames, with equally dumfounded expressions. Rosalie's expression was one of muted satisfaction, and concern as her eyes flicked between Esme and the fire.

Alice wasn't even looking at the fire, she was watching Isabella, concern on her face. Edward being dead didn't really bother her. She was more concerned about the emotions that it would bring up in her mate.

Isabella was also staring in shock. She was as much astounded by the fact that Esme had done this, as she was by the fact that she was seeing Edward's funeral pyre right in front of her. Very nearly her entire life had been colored by his presence. She didn't realize how much of her emotions were tied up into Edward's fate. Although she wasn't sure which affected her more, the fact that she had wanted to see him dead for going on ninety years, or the idea that Esme had just, for all intents and purposes, set fire to her son.

Esme watched the fire and sighed once, it was over. He was finally gone. She turned away from the flames, knowing she would never look back. She turned to face her daughter again, the one that Edward had kept from her for over a century, and she met her eyes fully once more.

"Esme?" Carlisle said before Esme could say anything else. She broke eye contact with Isabella and turned halfway towards her husband, but didn't look directly at him. Carlisle had finally gotten back onto his feet, but was unsteady enough that Tanya was helping him stand. He was still staring that the fire, a look of grief on his face. "Why?"

"Someone had to put him down, he was nothing more than a monster. As soulless as he always claimed he was. I couldn't let that thing endanger my children for another moment." She sneered at the flames even though she didn't look at them. Then she tried to look at Carlisle, but found that she couldn't. She couldn't blame him for the grief that he was feeling over the loss of their false son. She wished she didn't have to be responsible for that grief, but paradoxically she found herself irrationally angry at Carlisle for feeling it.

She immediately tried to toss those thoughts from her mind, and was partially successful. It wasn't Carlisle's fault for the way Edward had turned out. Edward had fooled him just like he'd fooled everyone else. She couldn't let herself fall into that hole, but she also couldn't quite accept him as he was either. She knew, however unfair it was, that Carlisle would have to put Edward behind him, if she was ever going to be able to accept him again.

She hoped that their relationship would survive this. She loved him, and prayed he could find a way to understand why she had done what she had done, and move on. If that meant he turned his back on her, she could accept that, no matter how much it broke her heart.

Silence filled the clearing, no one knew what to say. It was Esme who once again broke the silence.

"I'll just… go. None of you need me here anymore." Esme said with clear reluctance. She didn't want to leave, she couldn't imagine her life without these people. At the same time she couldn't bring herself to go into the flames with Edward. He wasn't worth following into the next life. She couldn't go to Isabella because had already rejected her once, and Esme wasn't sure she couldn't handle a second rejection. So she turned away from the fire, and both groups, making it clear of her intentions, then she began to walk away. Her footfalls silent as she made to leave the clearing, and their lives forever.

"No." The voice ringing through the clearing caused Esme to stop though she didn't turn around.

"No." Isabella repeated, only this time her voice came from directly behind her. Esme hadn't even heard her move, and jumped when she felt a hand come to rest gently on her shoulder. Still she didn't turn around, she couldn't face her.

Isabella's voice was soft, and it sounded very much like she was talking out her own feelings to herself as much as explaining them verbally. "I…. don't want you to go." She paused for a moment, like she had metaphorically cleared a lump from her throat.

When she started again, Isabella's voice was noticeably stronger, "You're the only mother I have left. You're the only real mother I've ever known. Ren... Renee was more like a best friend than a parent. You loved me in a way that I had never had, and when you...were gone it felt like there was a hole that could never be replaced. I'm tired of feeling empty. You are a part of me, of us… and I want you back... if you can accept me for who I am now." Isabella's voice sounded nervous at the end, though she could feel the flow of elation from Alice, and a similar but more muted flow from Eliza and Bree.

Esme turned her head looked at her, and the vacant dead expression on Esme's face melted. A warm smile crossed her lips, and she rushed the two steps to Isabella and buried her head in her shoulder, hugging her harder than she had ever been able to before. A moment later Isabella wrapped her arms around her, and buried her own head in Esme's shoulder. She could feel the younger woman let go of her pent up emotions, and it was more than she had hoped for. Then she a second pair of arms around her, and knew that Alice had joined them. Esme gathered her wits together, even though she was at the point of an emotional breakdown, "I can't tell you how much I've missed you Isabella."

Isabella's reply was so soft that Esme thought she might have imagined it, and knew she was the only one that could hear it. "You can call me Bella."

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**Wooo! Chapter!**

**1) Holy shit. We just did that. **

**2) Sharp-Eyed Shout outs go to IronicArcangel (who is FEMALE) and Chester Gavin for your amazing reviews, and to a guest who signed as Larry for catching a small error in an earlier chapter! **

**3) Samantha's Author's Notes: So yeah, that happened. We really just had Esme kill Edward. If this is something you just can't buy, or totally hate, blame me. I was the one that suggested it. We couldn't figure out how to have Isabella and the coven go after Edward, and retain the progress they've made since it would be based entirely on revenge. They would be hunting him down like an animal, and executing him. That just didn't work on every level. **

**Esme's actions, although similar, were different in one significant way. She was protecting her family, she was not seeking revenge perse. Does that make her actions more palatable? I leave that to you guys. I can say this, it was not a decision we made lightly, nor was it just done for shock value. Esme literally made the most sense, no matter how horrible it felt to bring her character to that place. We also felt it was more than time to bring Esme and Isabella together. It feels strange to say that Isabella just got her mother back, but in very real way, she has.**

**We haven't forgotten any characters, and Charlie and Angela will be coming soon. **

**That being said, I'd like to clear up the timeline a little. This chapter takes place on the same night chronologically as the meeting with the Quileute Council, which is the same night as the events in Chicago. When Esme kills Edward, Charlie and Angela have just packed Zoey up into a car. In other words, some time is going to need to pass before certain elements come together. So please bear with us.**

**4) A lot has happened in this night! **

**5) We are very very nervously awaiting reader responses for this chapter. It was huge in terms of impact, emotional fallout and the amount of emotion we put into it. I hope it paid off.**

**As always. Read and review!**


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